Attacks including fire-bombings that have swept across Brazil’s north-east state of Ceará have continued despite the deployment of at least 300 members of the elite National Public Security Force to help bring an end to days of violence in the region.

Ceará’s public security department said buses and cars were set alight and petrol stations were attacked on Sunday in state capital, Fortaleza, and in at least six other cities.

Police killed two people in a shootout. More than 100 people have been arrested since the violence broke out on Wednesday.

Brazil’s newly inaugurated government ordered the security force officers to be sent to the state on Friday after a series of attacks on banks, public buildings and vehicles.



While authorities said the motive behind the attacks had not been confirmed, officials believed they were revenge for the recent announcement of tighter rules governing prisons and prisoners in the state. Prison gangs in Brazil are powerful and their reach extends beyond the country’s jails.

The federal justice and public security ministry, which is now led by the former anti-corruption judge Sérgio Moro, ordered the security force officers to be sent to Ceará at the request of the state’s governor, Camilo Santana, citing the “urgent” nature of the threat.

The move was praised by Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right politician and former army captain who was elected on pledges to crack down on crime and give security forces a free hand against criminals.

“The people of Ceará need help at this moment,” said Bolsonaro, who was inaugurated on New Year’s Day.