Brazil’s police end strike before Carnival

Police in Brazil's Bahia state voted on Saturday to end a strike that unleashed a crime wave that has killed more than 150 people, Reuters reported.

Bahia's military police agreed to give up their walkout after 11 days of looting, assaults and vandalism in Brazil's third-largest city.

The welcome news comes just one week before Rio de Janeiro's famous Carnival celebrations but leaves concerns about security ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

Now Brazil's authorities are scrambling to step up security game ahead of both the World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 summer Olympics, Agence France Presse reported.

Late last week, the US Embassy in Brazil advised Americans to "consider delaying any non-essential travel" to Bahia "until the security conditions have stabilized."

More from GlobalPost: Rio police launch strike ahead of Carnival

Police and firefighters went on strike in Rio on Friday. The walkout there showed signs of flagging in its second day. Rio's civil police, one branch of striking security forces, agreed on Saturday to suspend their walkout, according to state news service Agencia Brasil.

850,000 tourists are expected to flock to Rio for the annual festival, which officially begins on February 17.

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