Brazil vows to fight gangs, Rio death toll hits 21‎

Brazil's president has promised to battle drug traffickers, who triggered a weekend of bloody chaos leaving 21 people dead in Rio de Janeiro. The violence comes just two weeks after Rio was awarded the 2016 Olympic Games.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazilian President, said, "We'll do anything it takes and make all necessary sacrifices so we can clean up the mess that these people are putting on Brazil and our image abroad. There are so many great things that take place in this country, so many honest people who work here and yet this handful of people manage to control another handful of people, ruining our image abroad and leaving innocent victims in Brazil."

The weekend clashes between rival gangs killed up to 21 people. In the Morro dos Macacos shantytown, two of the six officers on a police helicopter died on Saturday when it was shot down and a third, who was badly burnt, died on Monday.

The president says emergency funding will be given to police to combat drug gangs that control many of Rio's shantytowns and they will be provided bullet-proof helicopters. The weekend violence has strengthened Brazil's resolve to make Rio safer ahead of the Games and before the World Cup soccer tournament in 2014.

A police officer aims a weapon during an operation at the Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, Oct. 19, 2009. Police in Rio de Janeiro say they found two more bodies in a slum wracked by violence just two  weeks after the city won the 2016 Olympic games.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)