Seven people in buses were burned to death, three policemen were shot to death, and two other civilians died in a crossfire during a shootout in Rio's Botafago District. Seven alleged gang members were also slain.

Roberto Precioso, head of Rio's Public Safety Department, said gang members used handguns, machine guns and grenades in 12 attacks against police stations and outposts that began in the early morning. Fourteen civilians and seven police officers were injured, he added.

He said police intelligence had warned the gangs were planning to stage the attacks for some time. Precioso said the attacks were apparently ordered from inside a state prison, but did not elaborate.

The attacks began shortly after midnight on the Washington Luiz highway that links Rio de Janeiro with the nearby mountain resort of Petropolis where alleged gang members set fire to two interstate buses. Four city buses were later set afire, Rio's Public Safety Office said.

Most of the violence occurred on Rio's poor north side, although a policeman was killed in the upscale Lagoa district and a woman was killed in an attack on a police booth in Botafogo.

Rio Mayor Cesar Maia said gangs appeared to be retaliating against militias -- reportedly run by off-duty police officers -- that in recent months have been battling the drug gangs in slums and charging residents for protection.

"The reason for what's happening is that militias have grown and the drug gangs are leaving,"' Maia told reporters. "To maintain their income, the gangs are increasing crime on the street."

Precioso said police were working to contain ongoing attacks and they did not present a danger to the millions expected to ring in the new year on Rio's beaches.

But he declined to answer a reporter's question about whether the police are prepared to handle security during the 2007 Pan American Games that will take place here.

Rio de Janeiro is one of the most violent cities in the world, with an annual murder rate of about 50 per 100,000 residents.

The future official of the administration of President-elect Daniel Ortega confirmed they ratified that position in their recent meetings with the international financial organisms.

"We clarify that poverty is our priority," he stressed and added that they would stop the privatization encouraged by the neoliberal executives in power since 1990.

According to Nunez, the IMF, the World Bank, the Inter American Development Bank and other financial entities are just waiting for the establishment of the Sandinista Front to sit and negotiate.

However, the Sandinista government will trust not only in the IMF and will seek financial support from other entities outside Washington, he remarked.