Jamaica violence toll climbs to 49

Kingston, May 27 (IANS/EFE) Four days of fighting between members of Jamaican security forces and gunmen working for a drug lord have left 49 people dead in this capital, officials have said.

Jamaica’s ombudsman and public defender said they counted 44 bodies when they ventured into Kingston’s strife-torn Tivoli Gardens neighbourhood late Tuesday, adding to the five fatalities - including two policemen and a soldier - reported earlier.

Police and soldiers were trying to capture a man wanted by the US on drug- and gun-smuggling charges. But criminals aligned with Christopher “Dudus” Coke have been putting up resistance to prevent his arrest and extradition.

Ombudsman Herro Blair and Public Defender Earl Witter briefed reporters Wednesday on what they saw in Tivoli Gardens.

“We know now for sure that there are 35 civilian bodies in the morgue and when we were leaving last night there were another nine to be picked up by ambulances,” Blair told the press.

“We saw over 300 men being processed by the security forces, therefore, it could have been that many more could have been killed if the security forces were not so tolerant,” he added.

Witter, however, noted that the number of dead civilians far exceeded the number of weapons recovered by police.

“The security forces said that they recovered four guns, which do not correspond with the number of those killed,” the public defender said.

–IANS/EFE