Dangerous Cities

Rio de Janeiro a city in a state of perpetual war. Heavily-armed drug dealers control the favelas, while specially-trained police battle to take them down. Sometimes favelas become battlefields. There is also inter-gang violence as gangs fight for territory. We gained special access to the Rio Military Police Special Forces Battalion and filmed their high-risk operations.

Three thousand people a year are murdered in Cape Town, making it the most dangerous city in Africa. Some townships have become no-go areas, plagued by murders, violent robberies and illicit trade of every kind. Many locals choose to carry guns to defend themselves. Some even turn vigilante, while the middle classes barricade themselves into houses that are increasingly heavily fortified.

Kabul, now under Taliban control, is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. The population of four million people face terrorist attacks, Taliban oppression, and hunger. Before the Taliban returned there were 700 female journalists in Kabul. Most of them have fled, but we meet one, a journalist aged 26 who continues to work there, despite facing constant danger.