HUMAN rights group Amnesty International has called for a thorough investigation into the deaths of those killed in the security operation to arrest Christopher Dudus Coke.

In a release today, Amnesty said while the Jamaican police have a duty to maintain law and order, the attribution of extraordinary powers to the security forces may lead to human rights violations.

Security forces have so far accounted for four firearms seized, quite a low number compared with the number of people killed, Amnesty said.

The group said the human rights record of the police force in Jamaica is dire.

Every year the police are responsible for a high number of killings. Evidence indicates that many of these killings are unlawful," said Kerrie Howard, deputy director of Amnesty International's Americas programme

"In this context, residents of the affected areas, including those not involved in the armed confrontation, may become victims of abuses by the security forces. Only an impartial and thorough investigation of every death or injury caused by the use of force will enable the facts to be established regarding possible unlawful killings or extra-judiciary executions.