US troops with shoot-to-kill orders have been deployed in New Orleans to restore law and order after days of chaos and looting in the hurricane-devastated city.
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco says the 300 troopers from the Arkansas National Guard has been authorised to open fire on "hoodlums" who have been terrorising the flooded city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Their deployment came amid intense criticism of the government for a tardy response to the disaster, which is feared to have killed thousands of people and left hundreds of thousands more stranded and homeless.
"These troops are fresh back from Iraq, well trained, experienced, battle tested and under my orders to restore order in the streets," the governor said.
"They have M-16s and they are locked and loaded.
"These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary and I expect they will."
Four days after the killer storm slammed into the US Gulf Coast, New Orleans is still plagued by gun battles and rapes, with gangs of looters and carjackers roving the streets and bodies just left lying by the roadside.
President George W. Bush has vowed "zero tolerance" for the armed gangs and other profiteers from the devastation.
The president is due to tour the affected areas in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
He has also enlisted the support of his father former president George Bush and former president Bill Clinton to lead fund raising efforts.
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1451927.htm