More than 1,400 Brazilian police officers and Marines rolled into a massive complex of slums near Rio de Janeiro's international airport in a major security operation ahead of this year's World Cup.

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Members of the paramilitary police elite unit patrol the Favela da Mare complex AFP

Not a shot was fired as the Mare favela (shantytown) became the latest crime-ridden slum area to be targeted by security forces who moved in to take control and push out heavily armed drug gangs that have ruled Rio's shantytowns for decades.

The Mare favela occupies about 2 square miles of flat land in northern Rio and hugs the main road to the airport. It is home to about 130,000 people.

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An aerial view of part of the Mare slums Reuters
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Members of the Brazilian Armed Forces enter the favela AFP
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A paramilitary police helicopter flies over the Favela da Mare AFP
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Brazilian Navy troops enter the Complexo da Mare, one of the largest favela complexes in Rio Getty
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A member of Brazil's Special Operations Battalion (BOPE) looks for drugs and weapons in the Mare Reuters
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Brazilian military police officers examine drugs found in the favela AFP
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A truck filled with drugs Getty
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Young girls watch a BOPE special unit sniper secure the area ahead of the major police operation AFP
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A man showers on the street as policemen patrol Reuters
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Boys play football in the Mare slums complex Reuters
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A soldier passes a wall peppered with bullet holes Reuters
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Brazilian marines in an armoured personnel carrier patrol the Nueva Holanda favela, part of the Favela da Mare complex AFP

In recent months, gangs have attacked police outposts in other favelas on orders from imprisoned gang leaders. As police occupy more areas, gangs lose valuable territory for the manufacture and sale of drugs.

The "pacification" programme has resulted in fewer shootouts but many residents have complained of heavy-handed police tactics. After police posts have been set up there is no state follow-up with social programmes that would improve favela-dwellers' lives.

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A child plays with a dog AFP
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A horse eats out of a dustbin AFP
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People walk past a polluted stream in the Favela da Mare complex AFP
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Two women chat in the Complexo da Mare complex Getty
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A woman cleans a fish under a shower on the streets Reuters
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Children lead a horse through the Mare slums complex Getty
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Children sit on a sofa on a street in the favela complex AFP
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