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Deadly Battle in Jamaica Slums Escalates
Loading ...At least 26 people were said to be dead after a third day of violence in Kingston, Jamaica, as security forces assaulted the slum stronghold of armed groups believed to be defending accused Jamaican drug lord Christopher “Dudus” Coke.
Mr. Coke, the son of one of Jamaica’s most influential gang leaders, is fighting extradition to the U.S., where he is wanted on drug and gun-trafficking charges.
One member of the security forces had been killed and seven injured in the confrontation that broke out following Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s decision to extradite Mr. Coke, according to local media reports. Mr. Golding, perhaps fearing violence, had wavered on the extradition, but issued a warrant for Mr. Coke’s arrest last week.
Soldiers were on guard in Kingston, Jamaica, Monday. Armed police and soldiers barged past barricades into the capital’s most violent slums, clashing with defenders of a gang leader sought by the U.S.
Shooting, looting and attacks on Jamaican police soon followed. On Sunday, the government declared a state of emergency.
On Tuesday, the violence centered mainly in the Trench Town area, a notorious warren of shantytowns and public-housing projects celebrated as the childhood home of reggae legend Bob Marley. Fighting has also been reported in Spanish Town, a suburb west of Kingston.
Continue Reading at WSJ.com.
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