KINGSTON – Gunfire resounded in parts of Jamaica’s capital Kingston last night as security forces fought armed supporters of a fugitive alleged drug lord in a fourth day of violence that has killed nearly 50 people.
Soldiers and police were still hunting Christopher “Dudus” Coke (42) a notorious suspected Jamaican drug don whose extradition is being sought by the United States on charges of cocaine trafficking and gun-running.
Streets in the scruffy capital of the Caribbean tourist island were virtually deserted, with very little traffic and most schools and many businesses staying closed. Soldiers and police patrolled in armoured vehicles and SUVs.
Most of the dead were young men, suspected to be supporters of Coke who were killed when heavily armed security forces on Monday stormed the Tivoli Gardens slum that US prosecutors say served as a “garrison” of his supporters. Bursts of gunfire could be heard yesterday coming from the Waltham Park neighbourhood, north of Tivoli Gardens, and from Rockfort on the road to Kingston’s international airport.
Jamaican political ombudsman Herro Blair said he had made a tally of 44 civilians killed in Tivoli Gardens after he was sent there by prime minister Bruce Golding on an inspection mission on Tuesday.
Police said the increased number of dead civilians brought the overall death toll from four days of clashes in parts of Kingston to 49. At least three members of the security forces have been killed in the street gunfights.
Many locals support the crackdown. “This country has been taken over by criminals and we had 1,800 murders last year. Tivoli Gardens is one of the worst places in Jamaica and it is time that something is done about that community. It is like a kingdom within an island,” said Jennifer Baker.
Mr Golding rejected as “offensive” media reports that linked him to the alleged drug lord Coke.
Coke is a supporter of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party and wields influence in the constituency that Golding represents. US prosecutors have described Coke as the leader of the Shower Posse, which murdered hundreds of people during the 1980s cocaine wars. – (Reuters)