At least seven people have been killed in gang violence in troubled inner city neighborhoods of the Jamaican capital Kingston during the past four days, local media reported today.
Soldiers were called in alongside police trying to restore order in the area after the latest flare-up in the city's chronic gang tensions. Sections of central Kingston were under night curfew.
The unrest flared last Friday between rival gangs from the neighbouring communities of Tel Aviv and Matthew's Lane, apparently over gun ownership.
The Jamaica Gleanernewspaper said the latest deaths were two men whose bodies were found on the street early Sunday, one with stab wounds and the other with gunshot injuries.
Crime and violence in the downtown and West Kingston areas have been worsening in recent months. In the worst spate of violence, 25 people were killed and 50 were wounded in clashes between security forces and gunmen in July.