Morro do Juramento shantytown officers killed three suspected drug traffickers during the afternoon raids

officers killed three suspected drug traffickers during the afternoon raids, raising the death toll to 32. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules. In the early morning, officers shot dead three other suspects in northern areas of the city."We can't allow four or five criminals to cause this madness," Rio state Public Safety Director Jose Beltrame said about the drug chiefs his officers were hunting down. "Many people are suffering and feeling the pressure of this violence."By evening, most of the areas were calm, but more police operations were expected during the night.The International Olympic Committee awarded Rio the 2016 games on Oct. 2.Three men were killed in a shooting between drug dealers and the police in a Rio shantytown in the early hours of Wednesday, bringing to 29 the total number of deaths in the conflicts which have been plaguing the city since the last weekend. Wednesday's murders took place in the Morro do Juramento shantytown, in Rio's northern parts. According to the police, the three killed men were all criminal suspects. Among the 29 dead, there were three police officers, who were in a helicopter that was taken down by the criminals on Saturday, and three students. The remaining 23 dead were believed to be drug dealers, the police said. The police are still patrolling several shantytowns in the area, in order to make arrests and seize weapons and drugs. So far, the police have managed to seize a number of weapons, 250 kilograms of marijuana, and smaller amounts of cocaine and crack. In some shantytowns, the drug dealers' war left the local citizens too scared to stay in their homes. Numerous families left the shantytowns in fear. Some schools and one college decided to suspend classes until the end of the conflicts.
The conflicts started in the early hours of Saturday, when gangsters tried to take over the drug business in the Morro dos Macacos shantytown, controlled by a rival gang. Later on Saturday,12 vehicles were burnt in order to distract the officers from the gang war.
Since then, the conflicts have escalated, and the police have occupied several shantytowns in Rio's northern districts.