Update: Four killed as Jamaicans clash over drug lord, police storm Tivoli Gardens

KINGSTON, (Reuters) – Soldiers and police stormed a  Kingston slum today and traded gunfire with supporters of  an alleged Jamaican drug lord who faces extradition to the  United States.
At least four people have been killed, including two  policemen, one soldier and a civilian, and several others were  wounded in two days of violence.
The government declared a state of emergency yesterday in  volatile sections of the capital as Prime Minister Bruce  Golding vowed “strong and decisive action” to restore order.
The limited emergency in Jamaica, a popular Caribbean  tourism destination, covered districts where gunmen shot up or  set fire to five police stations and carried out carjackings  and looting yesterday.
There were unconfirmed reports of additional civilian  deaths and reports that military helicopters dropped explosives  on the Tivoli Gardens neighbourhood of West Kingston where  alleged drug lord Christopher “Dudus” Coke is believed to be  hiding out.
The government has called on Coke to surrender to face a  U.S. judicial request seeking his extradition on cocaine  trafficking and gun-running charges.
U.S. prosecutors have described Coke as the leader of the  “Shower Posse,” which murdered hundreds of people by showering  them with bullets during the cocaine wars of the 1980s.
Helmeted police in flak jackets and brandishing automatic  assault rifles fought their way into Tivoli Gardens today  and were engaged in a gunfight with suspected allies of  Coke.
Residents had temporarily held them off with makeshift  barricades while masked gunmen opened fire on them from  high-rise buildings overlooking the barricades, which closed  off main streets leading into the area.
Officials said the violence has had no impact so far on the  island’s bauxite, sugar and banana producing sectors.
“MURDER CAPITAL”
The normally bustling streets were mostly deserted, as the  country marked its Labor Day national holiday and motorists and  passersby steered clear of the trouble spot.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert warning of  violence in Kingston before the weekend, as tensions rose after  Golding said he was starting proceedings to extradite Coke.
Golding said yesterday the state of emergency would remain  in effect for a month and would demonstrate that Jamaica is “a  land of peace, order and security” where gang-related violence  will not be tolerated.
“This will be a turning point for us as a nation to  confront the powers of evil that has penalized the society and  earned us the unenviable label as one of the murder capitals of  the world,” he said.
The United States requested Coke’s extradition in August  last year but Jamaica initially refused, alleging that evidence  against Coke had been gathered through illegal wiretaps.
In its annual narcotics control strategy report in March,  the State Department said Coke’s well-known ties to Jamaica’s  ruling party highlighted “the potential depth of corruption in  the government.”