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Nearly 3,000 Brazilian troops are preparing to enter one of Rio de Janeiro's most dangerous shanty towns, the BBC reported.

It is the biggest such operation since the authorities began tackling powerful drug gangs in key areas of the city ahead of the football World Cup.

Tanks, helicopters and armoured vehicles are being used in the operation at the Favela da Mare district.

Elite troops are expected to remain in the area until after the tournament.

For decades the area, near Rio's international airport, has been controlled by some of the city's most powerful drug gangs.

Turf wars between rival groups have often forced the closure of the highway linking the city centre to the airport and other key access roads to Rio, where the World Cup final will be played.

The soldiers will replace policemen who entered the area last Sunday in the first stage of the occupation.

Three hundred of the 2,000 military police officers who took part in last week's operation have remained in the community.

They are expected to leave once the 2,700 soldiers - most of them elite army troops - secure the area.

The air space above the shanty town has been closed indefinitely, which will force planes to change their landing and take-off routes.