There is deep concern at the massacre on 30 August of 21 residents of the shanty town (favela) of Vigario Geral, Rio de Janeiro, and at allegations that it was carried out by members of the state military police. The Governor of Rio de Janeiro has publicly stated that he believes it to have been an act of revenge for the killing of four military policemen by drugs traffickers based in the favela on 28 August. Approximately 30 hooded and heavily armed men carried out a two-hour assault on the favela, indiscriminately firing at and killing any residents they encountered.
