Gang violence continues as Brazil sends more troops to northeast

Marauding attacks by gang members in northeast Brazil have continued for a third night despite a beefed-up presence of security forces, authorities said.

Media reports carried images of public buses and buildings in flames in nine cities on Thursday — including state capital Natal — in the northeastern Rio Grande do Norte state.

In Natal, a garbage collection centre, a supermarket and a gas station were all set ablaze, the G1 news site said.

"Never in my life have I seen something like this going on. We left for work ... and we came across this. It is very sad," Reinaldo Silva, a mason in Natal, told the AFP news agency.

Authorities dispatched an additional 220 federal police to the state, but reinforcements may climb as high as 800 in the coming days, Justice and Security Minister Flavio Dino told CNN. 

READ MORE: Brazil says gang members target numerous cities in wave of attacks

Nearly 30 urban areas hit with violence

The unrest, which began late on Monday, was orchestrated by imprisoned gang leaders as a protest against jail conditions and new regulations cracking down on criminal activity within the state penal system.

At least 28 urban areas in the state have been hit by the disturbances this week, authorities said.

Local media have carried footage of vehicles in flames, and of police cruisers, businesses and government buildings riddled with bullets.

Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hasn't spoken publicly about the disorder.

At least two people were killed in clashes with police earlier in the week, and 67 people have been arrested, public security sources in the state told AFP.