Rio de Janeiro: Four buses, a truck and two cars were burnt late on Saturday in Brazil when demonstrators took to the streets to protest the deaths of two young men during police actions.
The 17- and 21-year-olds died on Friday and Saturday in Niteroi, across the bay from Rio de Janeiro, local press reported.
One was killed when his motorcycle hit an armoured police vehicle, while the other was hit by crossfire in a gun battle between suspects and police, the Globo G1 news site said.
In protest, around 30 people raised barricades and burnt vehicles blocking the large avenues in Niteroi, as many residents were trying to head out of town for the Easter holiday weekend.
With the start of the World Cup less than two months away, Brazil has stepped up security efforts in the Rio area, where tens of thousands of football fans will fly in for the tournament and which will stage seven matches — including the July 13 final.
Amnesty International says some 2,000 people die every year in Brazil in careless and violent police actions. The death of 21-year-old Anderson Santos Silva as he was about to attend a special Easter ceremony angered the community, local media reported.
“The young man died trying to protect his mother and sister,” said Niteroi’s Catholic Church in a statement.
The second victim, identified as 17-year-old Emanoel Gomes, died on Friday night when his motorbike crashed into an armoured police vehicle in a nearby area.
There are concerns about security in Brazil ahead of the football World Cup, which will take place between June 12 and July 13.
The city of Rio de Janeiro will also host the 2016 Olympics.
Earlier this month, nearly 3,000 soldiers and police took control of one of Rio’s most dangerous shanty towns, the Mare slum complex, near the main international airport.
It had been in the hand of some of the country’s most notorious and violent drug lords for decades. Troops are expected to remain in the area until the end of the World Cup.
