Police hold 500 after raid in search of 'Dudus' Coke, but soldiers order journalists away at gunpoint
Ross Sheil in Kingston and Caroline Davies
The civilian death toll from street fighting in downtown Kingston reached 44 last night and was expected to climb further as Jamaican security forces continued efforts to flush out alleged drugs baron Christopher "Dudus" Coke.
The latest figures followed a visit by an independent assessment team to the Tivoli Gardens district, scene of the worst fighting, which described appalling conditions for residents trapped in houses.
Public defender Earl Witter said the majority of the corpses at the morgue "appeared to be those of males under 30. There were no women among the dead".
Four soldiers and police have also died in three days of violence after the storming of the ghetto on Monday in search of Coke, 42, wanted on drugs and gun-running charges in the United States, where he faces a life sentence if convicted.
At least 37 people are reported to have been injured. The ministry of national security said police had more than 500 people, mostly men, in custody after the Tivoli operation. Coke is still at large.
