48 killed in Jamaican gun battles
Source: Agencies |
May 27, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
JAMAICAN security forces claimed a tenuous hold over the slum stronghold of a gang leader sought by the United States, but only after battles that killed at least 44 civilians and four security officers, the country's official ombudsman said yesterday.
Officers and soldiers were still fighting holdout defenders of Christopher Coke, known as "Dudus," in pockets of the Tivoli Gardens area. He was still at large after three days of street battles.
Bishop Herro Blair, Jamaica's most prominent evangelical pastor, said independent evaluations have put the number of civilian dead at 44 in West Kingston alone. Police have said that at least four soldiers and police officers also have died in fighting in West Kingston and elsewhere around the capital.
The country's embattled Prime Minister Bruce Golding promised an independent investigation into all civilian deaths during the operation in Tivoli Gardens, where supporters of Coke began massing last week after Golding dropped his nine-month refusal to extradite him to the US.
Coke has ties to Golding's Labor Party, which gets a large number of votes from the Tivoli Gardens area Golding represents in parliament.
Golding vowed that the "most thorough investigations" would examine all deaths caused by security forces, which have a reputation for slipshod investigations and for being too quick on the trigger. He also said security agents would go after "criminal gunmen in whatever community they may be ensconced."
The gunmen fighting for Coke say he provides services and protection to the poor West Kingston community - funded by a criminal empire that seemed untouchable until the US demanded his extradition. Coke has built a loyal following and turned the neighborhood into his stronghold.
Officers and soldiers were still fighting holdout defenders of Christopher Coke, known as "Dudus," in pockets of the Tivoli Gardens area. He was still at large after three days of street battles.
Bishop Herro Blair, Jamaica's most prominent evangelical pastor, said independent evaluations have put the number of civilian dead at 44 in West Kingston alone. Police have said that at least four soldiers and police officers also have died in fighting in West Kingston and elsewhere around the capital.
The country's embattled Prime Minister Bruce Golding promised an independent investigation into all civilian deaths during the operation in Tivoli Gardens, where supporters of Coke began massing last week after Golding dropped his nine-month refusal to extradite him to the US.
Coke has ties to Golding's Labor Party, which gets a large number of votes from the Tivoli Gardens area Golding represents in parliament.
Golding vowed that the "most thorough investigations" would examine all deaths caused by security forces, which have a reputation for slipshod investigations and for being too quick on the trigger. He also said security agents would go after "criminal gunmen in whatever community they may be ensconced."
The gunmen fighting for Coke say he provides services and protection to the poor West Kingston community - funded by a criminal empire that seemed untouchable until the US demanded his extradition. Coke has built a loyal following and turned the neighborhood into his stronghold.
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