ARGENTINE TROOPS CALLED AS VIOLENCE FLARES

Argentine authorities late Tuesday ordered more paramilitary troops to riot-torn areas to quell a week-long wave of looting that has left at least 12 people dead, dozens injured, and hundreds detained. ``It's no longer a question of supermarket lootings. There have also been very serious attacks on private homes. There are firearms and there are snipers,'' Interior Secretary Ricardo Gil Lavedra said.

The rash of widespread looting and riots continued in Argentine cities despite a 30-day state of siege declared Monday by President Ra'ul Alfons'in.

The government sent 1,000 more paramilitary security troops to Rosario, Argentina's second largest city, where seven people have died and more than 1,000 were detained in recent looting incidents.

More than 1,000 policemen patrolled General Sarmiento, a northern suburb of Buenos Aires where five people were killed in food riots, say local news agencies.