Rio's drug war

A small war took place last week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Brazilian forces and hundreds of drug traffickers holed up in the shantytown complex dubbed Complexo do Alemão. After recent efforts by officials to pacify Rio's drug and gang-related violence ahead of the upcoming the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics Games, drug gangs struck out last week - attacking police stations and staging mass robberies. After days of preparation, Brazilian security forces launched a raid in the Complexo do Alemão, where between 500 and 600 drug traffickers were holed up. At least 42 people were killed in the violence last week, with security forces taking control of many neighborhoods. A relatively low number of arrests were made, and authorities warn of further conflict as continue to flush out more suspects in Rio's maze of favelas. 

Alleged drug traffickers who did not want to identify themselves, pose for a photo as they stand on a street at a slum in western Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Nov. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana

A general view of the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

A bus burns on Maria da Graca neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro November 26, 2010. (REUTERS/Sergio Moraes) 

Alleged drug dealers, one holding a weapon, ride a motorcycle through an intersection in the Morro de Alemão shantytown, on November 27, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images

A military policeman takes position during the raid in the Morro do Alemão shantytown on November 28, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (JEFFERSON BERNARDES/AFP/Getty Images) 

Police move to positions during an operation against alleged drug traffickers at the Complexo do Alemão slum, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. Rio police backed by helicopters and armored vehicles started invading a shantytown complex long held by traffickers on Sunday, slowly moving their way through small alleys amid heavy gunfire. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) 

People react after shooting set a house on fire during a conjoined operation at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010. Soldiers and police crouching behind armored vehicles trained their rifles on dozens of entrances to a sprawling slum Saturday, preparing to invade and try to push drug gangs out an area long considered the most dangerous in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Army soldiers, police and journalists take positions during an operation by the authorities at Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro November 27, 2010. (REUTERS/Sergio Moraes) 

An armed suspected armed drug gang member takes position behind a resident during an operation at Grota slum in Rio de Janeiro November 26, 2010. (REUTERS/Sergio Moraes) 

A policeman looks through his binoculars during an operation against drug traffickers at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

An armored vehicle of the Brazilian Army rolls over a blockade during an operation at Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro November 28, 2010. Police positioned armored vehicles on the edge of a Rio de Janeiro slum at dusk on Saturday in preparation for a possible offensive to root out drug traffickers. (REUTERS/Bruno Domingos) 

A child reacts during a shooting as a result of a police operation against drug traffickers at the Complexo do Alemão in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/ Silvia Izquierdo) 

A photographer takes a position behind an empty water tank during an operation at Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro on November 27, 2010. (REUTERS/Sergio Moraes MEDIA) 

Drug dealers point guns at the police at Grato shantytown in Alemão slum on November 26, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (THIAGO CARDOSO/AFP/Getty Images) 

A policeman is seen during a shootout with traffickers during an operation at Vila Cruzeiro slum in Rio de Janeiro November 25, 2010. (REUTERS/Bruno Domingos) 

A policemen walks past a wall with a painting of the Brazilian flag marked with bullet holes during an operation against drug traffickers at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

A resident (bottom center) who was shot lies on the ground as others help him during a police operation at the Grota slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Friday, Nov. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

A solider looks on as he sits in an armored vehicle during an operation against alleged drug traffickers at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

Coordination of Special Resources (CORE) policemen escort arrested alleged drug dealers and carry a marijuana plant seized during the raid in the Morro do Alemão shantytown on November 28, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro. (JEFFERSON BERNARDES/AFP/Getty Images) 

Residents flee the conflict area during the raid in the Morro do Alemão shantytown on November 28, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro. (JEFFERSON BERNARDES/AFP/Getty Images) 

A photojournalist takes photos of drugs, weapons and bullets seized during an operation against drug traffickers at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

A handcuffed suspect waits inside a police bus during an operation against alleged drug traffickers at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

Policemen carry an injured suspected drug trafficker after a shootout on November 23, 2010, as they conducted a raid on drug gangs at the Mandela 2 slum in Rio de Janeiro. (REUTERS/Sergio Moraes) TEMPLATE OUT 

Policemen search a cocaine refining laboratory during the raid in the Morro do Alemão shantytown on November 28, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro. (JEFFERSON BERNARDES/AFP/Getty Images) 

A police officer hands packages of marijuana seized during an operation against drug traffickers to a fellow officer at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

A boy with the word "Peace" written in his forehead looks on during a protest at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

A military helicopter overflies the Morro do Alemão shantytown during a raid on November 28, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro. (EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images) 

Children play in a pool at the house of an absent alleged drug trafficker at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) 

Riot Special Forces policemen load a helicopter with six tons of marijuana found in a bunker during a raid in the Morro do Alemão shantytown on November 28, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro. (EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images) 

A boy stands outside his house as motorcycles burn at the Vila Cruzeiro slum in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, Nov. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

A resident holding a baby hides behind a door as an armored police vehicle patrols during an operation at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) 

Military policemen take places during a raid in Morro do Alemão shantytown on November 28, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro. (ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/Getty Images) 

Soldiers aim their weapons during an operation against drug traffickers at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

A soldier closes the door of an armored vehicle before an operation against drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Friday, Nov. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

An alleged drug trafficker known as Zeu (center) is arrested during a police operation at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) 

A body lies next to an escape route used by traffickers after an operation against drug traffickers at the Vila Cruzeiro slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) 

A military policeman looks over the rooftops during a raid in Morro do Alemão shantytown on November 28, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro. (ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/Getty Images) 

The bullet-hit window of a taxi, as Reuters' photographer Paulo Whitaker was injured during an operation at Vila Cruzeiro slum in Rio de Janeiro November 26, 2010. Whitaker was shot in the shoulder during the coverage but he is recovering quickly as his injury is not life-threatening, doctors said. (REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker) 

A police officer aims his weapon during an operation against alleged drug traffickers at the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday Nov. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/ Silvia Izquierdo)

Police arrest a suspect in the Complexo do Alemão slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Monday Nov. 29, 2010. Authorities seized control of what was long the most dangerous slum in the city as operations continued Monday to locate drug gang members. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Diana Markosian. Goodbye my Chechnya

 An empty bedroom which Elina Aleroyeva once shared with her husband. Aleroyeva, 25, says her husband was at work when security forces kidnapped her husband on May 9, 2011- accusing him of being a militant. Disappearances used to be a signature abuse in both Chechen wars and continue to take place.

 Chechen dancers backstage at a concert hall in the Chechen capital, Grozny. A suicide bomb exploded in front of the concert hall in 2009, killing six people and wounding several others.

 At sunset in the outskirts of Grozny, Kazbek Mutsaev, 29, fires celebratory gun shots as part of an age-old wedding tradition in Chechnya.

 Jamila Idalova, 16, on her wedding day. The teen bride was kidnapped by her boyfriend. Idalova's family eventually approved the marriage. Bridal kidnappings are outlawed under strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.

 A group of Chechen men at a party, standing at the opposite end of the women. In Chechnya, under strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, gender segregation is being enforced.

 Layusa Ibragimova, 15, has her hair and nails done before her wedding. Her marriage to 19-year-old Ibragim Isaev was finalized by her father just weeks before.

 Chechen girls wait to be picked up for a party in the village of Achkoy-Martan.

 Party guests cheer as a couple dances Lezginka, a traditional dance performed in the North Caucasus.

 Seda Makhagieva, 15, sits beside her friends as they adjust her head covering. The teen started wearing the head covering a year ago - despite her family's disapproval.

 Chechen girls at a lecture hall in downtown Grozny.

 A Chechen teen, who considers herself 'emo,' a person who dresses in pink and black and is suicidal, puts on lip gloss in her room. When asked if she wants to kill herself, she said: "I don't know yet." Chechen youth who are influeced by the Western emo subculture are targets of violence by authorities in the region.

 A Chechen boy checks out a girl from his black tinted window. Despite official measures, bride kidnapping continues to be an endemic problem. Young women in Chechnya are kidnapped off the street and married to men they may never have met.

 Amina Mutieva , 21, prays before her class at the Islamic University in Grozny.

 Chechen girls after school in front of the Heart of Chechnya mosque, the largest in Europe. All Chechen girls, despite religion, must wear a head covering in public schools and government buildings.

 Chechen artists backstage before their performance. All women in Chechnya must wear headscarves in public schools and state buildings. Celebrities were among the first to conform, making the head cover a fashion statement.

 Gym class at School No 1 in the Chechen village of Serzhen-Yurt. The schoolgirls, who are dressed in long flowing skirts and head covers, refuse to their gym pants because they say it violates Muslim dress code.

 Chechen teens study the Koran at an underground medrese. In today's Chechnya, Chechen youth are quick to embrace Islam after decades of religious repression in the Soviet Union.

 Half of the girls in the ninth grade at School No 1-- in the Chechen village of Serzhen-Yurt - wear a hijab. The head and neck covering is a sharp break from Chechen tradition.

A couple on a date in the small village of Serzhen-Yurt. Couples in Chechnya must meet in public and sit a distance from one another. All physical contact is forbidden prior to marriage

Seda Makhagieva, 15, wraps a pastel-colored head and neck covering. Makhagieva fought to wear the hijab - a sharp break from her families' traditions.

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