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Jamaica declares emergency
The emergency covers the West Kingston and St Andrew districts in the capital
Jamaica's government has declared a state of emergency in parts of its capital Kingston after shooting and firebomb attacks on police stations by suspected supporters of an alleged drug lord who faces extradition to the US.
The emergency, which went into effect at 23:00 GMT on Sunday, covers the West Kingston and St Andrew districts of the capital where gunmen fired on two police stations and threw firebombs at another.
The attackers were suspected supporters of Christopher "Dudus" Coke who the government is seeking under a US extradition request.
At least one policeman was injured.
Streets into the Tivoli Gardens area of West Kingston, where Coke is believed to be, were barricaded, witnesses said.
Police have called the barricades, which supporters have used to transform the area into a virtual fortress, an "act of cowardice" and urged Coke to turn himself in.
Tensions in Jamaica rose over the last week after Bruce Golding, the prime minister, reversed his long-standing refusal to extradite Coke to the US on drugs and arms-trafficking charges.
US prosecutors describe Coke as the leader of the "Shower Posse" that murdered hundreds of people by showering them with bullets during the cocaine wars of the 1980s.
Relations between Jamaica and the US grew strained when Jamaica ignored an earlier extradition request for Coke, who is a supporter of the ruling Jamaica Labour party and wields influence in the volatile inner city constituency that Golding represents.
The emergency covers the West Kingston and St Andrew districts in the capital
Jamaica's government has declared a state of emergency in parts of its capital Kingston after shooting and firebomb attacks on police stations by suspected supporters of an alleged drug lord who faces extradition to the US.
The emergency, which went into effect at 23:00 GMT on Sunday, covers the West Kingston and St Andrew districts of the capital where gunmen fired on two police stations and threw firebombs at another.
The attackers were suspected supporters of Christopher "Dudus" Coke who the government is seeking under a US extradition request.
At least one policeman was injured.
Streets into the Tivoli Gardens area of West Kingston, where Coke is believed to be, were barricaded, witnesses said.
Police have called the barricades, which supporters have used to transform the area into a virtual fortress, an "act of cowardice" and urged Coke to turn himself in.
Tensions in Jamaica rose over the last week after Bruce Golding, the prime minister, reversed his long-standing refusal to extradite Coke to the US on drugs and arms-trafficking charges.
US prosecutors describe Coke as the leader of the "Shower Posse" that murdered hundreds of people by showering them with bullets during the cocaine wars of the 1980s.
Relations between Jamaica and the US grew strained when Jamaica ignored an earlier extradition request for Coke, who is a supporter of the ruling Jamaica Labour party and wields influence in the volatile inner city constituency that Golding represents.
