Conception (Chile): Thousands more troops were
deployed on Wednesday across quake-ravaged Chile as armed vigilantes
patrolled neighborhoods to ward off looters and soldiers
distributed emergency aid to desperate survivors.
With the country's reputation for stability at stake,
authorities were scrambling to defuse an explosive situation
in Chilean cities and towns where gangs of looters roamed the
streets days after one of the strongest earthquakes ever
measured.
"The thugs have taken over the city. Now we are not afraid
of the earthquakes, we're afraid of the criminals," Marcelo
Rivera, the mayor of Hualpen, told a Chilean radio station.
President Michelle Bachelet, forced into defending
government efforts to maintain order and coordinate rescue and
relief operations, doubled the number of troops patrolling the
worst-hit areas to 14,000, while an 18-hour curfew was
imposed in Concepcion where armoured military vehicles guarded
strategic points of Chile's hard-hit second city.
"Military personnel will be present in the streets of
Concepcion until midday to maintain public order, and they
will not waver in carrying out their duties," warned General
Guillermo Ramirez.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 03, 2010, 22:13