AFP
April 11, 2014
At least seven people were injured Friday as authorities ousted squatters from an abandoned building and shacks surrounding it just steps from Rio’s iconic Maracana stadium.
With the start of the World Cup two months away, Brazil has stepped up security efforts in the metropolis, where tens of thousands of football fans will fly in for the tournament and which will stage seven matches — including the July 13 final at Maracana.
At dawn, more than 1,600 heavily armored police arrived at the building — which had been occupied by squatters in recent weeks — brandishing an eviction order requested by the Oi phone company, which owns the property.
5000 families brutally evicted by the state in Rio de Janeiro today. Children were injured #antireport pic.twitter.com/CzDxbnexbB
— (A)narchoDu (@anarchoDu) April 11, 2014
Violent clashes as police evict squatters in Rio http://t.co/CaJThLt7H4 pic.twitter.com/FxUccOHAXR
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) April 11, 2014
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