Jamaica seeks help to stop violence

Police say they came under heavy fire

The Jamaican Government has said it will seek international help to tackle some of the worst civil violence for many years in the capital, Kingston.

The army has been called in to restore order in the capital, Kingston, where two days of gun battles have left at least 20 people dead and 30 injured.

There have been unconfirmed reports that the disturbances are spreading.

A police raid for illegal weapons triggered the violence

Prime Minister PJ Patterson, speaking on Monday hours after a policeman had been shot and burned to death in his car, said troops planned "cordons and curfews" in areas where the fighting has been taking place.

The violence between security forces and opposition party members erupted over the weekend after a police raid on Saturday for illegal weapons in west Kingston.

The UK Foreign Office has advised citizens against travelling to areas where demonstrations have been reported, though it stressed that resorts on the north coast like Montego Bay were not affected.

However, it warned travellers to take care on the road to and from Kingston airport, where there may be road blocks and fuel shortages.

Government accused

Jamaica's opposition says casualty figures are higher than those given by police and accuses the government of unevenly enforcing the law by sending police and soldiers into its strongholds.

The leader of the opposition Jamaica Labour Party, Edward Seaga, said that at least 23 people had been killed and 50 injured.

Mr Seaga accuses the government of conducting a campaign of sustained violence against him and his supporters.

Indiscriminate fire

The violence in Kingston erupted as police and soldiers entered the troubled Tivoli Gardens neighbourhood on Saturday to search for guns in an attempt to quell recent gang fighting in the area, police said.

According to Mr Seaga, however, police and soldiers invaded the area, where he has his headquarters, firing indiscriminately.

He said 10 people were left dead and another eight wounded.

A news release issued by his party said that 10 hours after the incident bodies were still lying on the ground and police were firing at anyone who tried to retrieve them, as well as at television camera crews.

The security forces were warning people to stay away from the area.

Snipers

The JLP has been circulating pictures of the blood-covered bodies on the internet.

But the official Jamaican police report of the shooting incident does not mention opposition party members.

It says a police operation in Tivoli Gardens came under heavy fire from unknown snipers which killed a police corporal and an officer attached to a special anti-crime force.

It said four other officers and a number of other people had been wounded.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Kingston's many gangs were used to rustle up votes for Jamaica's two main political parties.

Although the gangs now focus on drugs, most have political loyalties and often clash over party affiliations.