At least 26 civilians and four members of the security forces have died as police and soldiers battle supporters of an alleged drug lord who faces extradition to the US, Jamaican police have said.
Thousands of heavily armed forces are raiding the capital's most violent central slums in a hunt for underworld boss Christopher Coke, known as "Dudus".
A police spokesman said the fighting in West Kingston alone has led to 26 civilian deaths and one of a security official. Police had reported that earlier fighting left two officers and a soldier dead.
The government has declared a state of emergency in volatile sections of the capital as the prime minister, Bruce Golding, vowed "strong and decisive action" to restore order.
The violence erupted in districts where gunmen attacked and burned five police stations yesterday and carried out carjackings and looting.
The government has called on Coke to surrender to face a US extradition request on cocaine trafficking and gunrunning charges.
US prosecutors have described Coke as the leader of the Shower Posse, which murdered hundreds of people during the cocaine wars of the 1980s.
Earlier today, helmeted police in flak jackets and brandishing automatic assault rifles fought their way into Tivoli Gardens and engaged in gunfights with suspected allies of Coke. Residents temporarily held them off with makeshift barricades as masked gunmen opened fire from high-rise buildings overlooking the barricades, which closed off main streets leading into the area.
The normally bustling streets were mostly deserted as the country marked a national holiday and motorists and pedestrians steered clear of the trouble spot.
The US issued a travel alert warning of violence in Kingston ahead of the weekend. Tensions rose after Golding said he was starting extradition proceedings against Coke.
Golding said yesterday that the state of emergency would remain in effect for a month and would demonstrate that Jamaica is "a land of peace, order and security" where gang-related violence would not be tolerated.
"This will be a turning point for us as a nation to confront the powers of evil that has penalised the society and earned us the unenviable label as one of the murder capitals of the world," he said.
Jamaica initially refused a US request for Coke's extradition in August, alleging that evidence against Coke had been gathered through illegal wiretaps.
In its annual narcotics control strategy report in March, the US said Coke's ties to Jamaica's ruling party highlighted "the potential depth of corruption in the government".
