Gun battles rip through Rio slums

Gunfights in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have left 11 people dead.

The police said six drug traffickers died in what the authorities believe was a showdown between rival drug gangs in the western slum of Tres Pontes.

In the Mare slum area on the city's outskirts, which is not far from the international airport, police officers shot dead five people.

They opened fire during a raid which followed an attack on two police patrol cars on Tuesday.

The authorities are worried about possible violence during the Rio carnival which begins in four weeks.

Last year, the federal government dispatched army units to guard the carnival after a wave of violence in the city.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service