BRAZILIAN POLICE KILLED IN WAR WITH DRUG BARONS

RIO DE JANEIRO - Ten police chiefs lost their jobs and two officers lost
their lives yesterday in Brazil's spreading war with drug barons which has
killed at least 100 in two weeks.

Turf battles that until recently took lives in the shanty towns around Rio
de Janeiro have spilled over into the tourist city's neighbourhoods.

In the face of unprecedented drug-related violence, Rio de Janeiro's Public
Safety Secretary, Anthony Garotinho, replaced 10 battalion commanders of
the military police.

Garotinho announced on Saturday that the occupation of several shanty
towns, controlled by drug kingpins and where the fighting is concentrated,
would continue indefinitely.