Armoured vehicles and marines have been brought in to Vila Cruzeiro slum in Rio de Janeiro to help stem a wave of violence that has killed at least 23 people in recent days.

Violent clashes broke out in the city on Sunday as police officers tried to claim back control of several areas of the city run by drug gangs.

Police say many gang members took refuge in Vila Cruzeiro after they were forced out of other city slums. TV networks are reported to be covering the event live, broadcasting from helicopters hovering above the city.

Over the past few days, some 150 people have been arrested during sweeps with 17,500 officers.

Most of the violence was concentrated in the city's poor northern and western neighbourhoods, like the Santa Cruz slum, where gangs created road-blocks by setting vehicles alight.

The police force has been bolstered to try and wrest back control of several of the city's slum areas.

Two officers are reported to have suffered minor wounds in the clashes, with gang members targeting police stations like this one in the Del Castilho neighbourhood.

Residents took cover as shots were fired. Several of those killed and injured, locals claim, were bystanders, including a 14-year-old girl, Rosangela Barbosa, who was hit by a stray bullet.