AT LEAST 11 people were killed by armed gunmen in Belem, northern Brazil on Sunday, in a suspected retaliation against the deployment of federal forces in the area.

State officials confirmed only that a “massacre” had occurred, after seven gunmen arrived at a bar on three motorcycles and in a car, before shooting indiscriminately.

Local media reported that it could be related to the government’s attempt to tackle drug and crime disputes. 

No arrests have yet been made.

Belem was one of three neighbourhoods National Guard troops were sent into in March with the aim of reinforcing security.

The Para state governor Helder Barbalho said that the shooting would not force him to “back down”, or make him change his approach to security.

Rising crime levels were one of the key issues in last year’s election, which brought far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro to power.

Mr Bolsonaro promised to empower “good citizens” to defend themselves from criminals, giving them increased rights to own and carry guns.

Brazil had a record-high 64,000 murders in 2017 — 70 per cent of which were caused by firearms.