Members of the National Security Force, composed of police and firemen, practice crowd control during training of troops who will provide security at the 2014 World Cup, in Brasilia February 4, 2014.
Brazil announced Thursday that its suggested 100,000-strong security force for this year’s soccer World Cup will be boosted with an additional 70,000 officers.
Massive street protests have been flaring up since June, with occasional violent incidents, raising concerns regarding tournament safety.
“We have a lot of concerns, not so much about protests which are a democratic right, but rather about potential violence,” said Justice Ministry official Andrei Rodrigues.
The majority of the security operation will be drawn from the armed forces and police, but an extra 20,000 security stewards will also be trained for work inside the 12 tournament stadiums.
[VOA]