LOS ANGELES (AP) The city is taking its war against a street gang to court.

A lawsuit filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court seeks an injunction
barring members of the 18th Street Gang from congregating in a
17squareblock area near eastern Culver City.

``The defendants have waged a gang war, including engaging in murders,
driveby shootings, brandishing and discharging firearms, drug use, drug
sales (and) graffiti... against the residents who live in and use the area,''
the complaint said.

On Friday, dozens of police officers fanned out in the area, regarded as the
gang's home turf, ``to serve gang members with the lawsuit,'' City Attorney
James Hahn said in a statement Saturday.

Similar injunctions against gangs in California cities have been issued by
judges, including one filed last November in Compton.

The gang abatement suit names 18 alleged members and includes their street
aliases, such as ``Clown'' and ``Lil Man.''

If a judge grants the injunction, they would be barred from sitting,
standing, walking, driving or gathering together with other gang members.

They also would be barred from selling or possessing drugs, acting as a
lookout for the gang, harassing people or blocking the ``free passage'' of
any person or vehicle.

The city also is seeking an 8 p.m. curfew for minors and a 10 p.m. curfew for
adults in the area, with exceptions for those returning from work or
otherwise going straight home.

APNY032297 1927EST