Rio beefs up security ahead of Brazil vote

Brazilian authorities have deployed 35,000 military police in Rio de Janeiro ahead of tomorrow's presidential run-off election after a string of attacks on police and clashes between drug gangs.

The state security secretariat said today it had moved the deployment ahead by 24 hours after a policeman was killed last week in Mangueira, a favela (slum) in the north of the city.

The victim was part of a police unit posted in the community as part of a push to "pacify" Rio's favelas, or wrest them back from the drug traffickers who have controlled them for decades in many cases.

The following day, clashes between police and drug traffickers in a favela in the city center wounded two officers.

And in the Complexo da Mare favela near the international airport, a war between rival drug gangs has erupted into near-daily clashes in recent weeks despite the presence of 3,000 army troops.

Security has been reinforced in the 38 "pacified" favelas in the iconic coastal city.

In all, Rio has 253 favelas that are home to more than 1.5 million people, authorities say.

Across Brazil, the army is beefing up security in 224 cities for Sunday's vote.