KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - The Jamaican government has declared a state of emergency as sporadic violence continues in gritty west Kingston, considered the stronghold of a reputed drug lord.
The state of public emergency is limited to the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew.
Throughout Sunday, masked men defending Christopher “Dudus” Coke, traded gunfire with security forces in a patchwork of barricaded slums in the capital, and torched a police station.
Also, a police station in Dehnam town came under heavy fire from gangsters roaming the streets with high-powered guns.
Authorities say two security officers have been wounded.
The violence erupted after nearly a week of rising tensions over the possible extradition of coke to the United States, where he's charged with drug and arms trafficking.
The U.S., Canada and Britain have issued travel alerts.
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