Jamaican capital in a swirl of gangsters unrest by Zuzana Zelenakova

A state of emergency has been declared in Jamaican capital of Kingston due to major public unrest caused by hunt for drug lord Christopher “Dudus” Coke. The United States is seeking the extradition of 42-year-old drug lord on drug and arms trafficking charges. The police forces hit the town´s slums on Monday in a search for Coke. Subsequently, gangsters, Coke´s supporters presumably, attacked several police stations and even managed to loot and burn down one of them. 44 civilians have been killed so far and 37 were injured. On Monday afternoon, more than 1,000 members of police and soldiers assaulted alleged stronghold of Christopher Coke in West King! ston slums. Heavily armed gangsters stood against them defending Tivoli Gardens neighborhood. "We are facing a crisis ... The measures are extraordinary, but they are extraordinary responses to extraordinary actions taken by some," said Prime Minister Bruce Golding to the parliament defending the resolute move in Tivoli Gardens. After the police assault, the local residents were kept in their homes. "We are hungry, we have no food and we cannot go outside," one woman told Reuters by telephone. "Some of us are desperate. Whenever we try to go outside our homes, the soldiers chase us back in and tell us to stay inside." The United States has already asked for the extradition of Coke once, in August last year, however, Jamaica refused the request stating that evidence against the man considered to be the leader of Jamaican gang called Shower Posse was based on illegal wiretaps. "We filed the extradition request with Jamaica last year and the government has recently decided to ! arrest him. Obviously they would have to go through a legal pr! ocess to evaluate whether extradition is appropriate under Jamaican law," said US State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley.

related story (sgx17404): http://www.france24.com/en/20100526-jamaica-drugs-kingston-p...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for Cantell TV (http://cantell.tv)

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