Brazil battles PCC in Amazon

Brazil’s battle to reclaim land from illegal miners turned deadly after 5 were killed in violence in the Amazon’s Yanomami territory. The bloodshed began when masked miners launched an attack on a Yanomami village called Uxiu.

Four miners were killed as special forces raided a cassiterite and gold field called 'Garimpo do Ouro Mil'.

The arrival of federal forces prompted gun battles. The camp belongs to be the First Capital Command (PCC) – a São Paulo prison gang that has grown to become one of South America’s most powerful gangs.Illegal miners have devastated the Yanomami territory, causing Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to call it 'an attempted genocide'.

Cops say there were up to 20,000 miners in the Yanomami lands, but many left after raids on 327 mining camps and destruction of 18 planes and two helicopters.

Gangsters use a fleet of helicopters to supply the mines – and smuggle out gold and cassiterite. Cops say the complete closure of Yanomami airspace to such aircraft is critical to stopping the mining.