Thousands of soldiers in armored vehicles, trucks and on foot entered one of Rio de Janeiro's most notorious slums Saturday to provide security less than three months before the World Cup.

The move is the latest attempt to drive drug gangs out of the notorious Mare shanty town, a haven for organized crime and one of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods, located near Rio de Janeiro's international airport.

The Mare complex, home to 130,000 people, is a potential through route for tens of thousands of football fans flying in and out of the metropolis, which will stage seven World Cup matches, including the July 13 final.

Members of the feared Special Police Operations Battalion, with guns at the ready and backed by helicopters and naval armored vehicles, stormed into the Mare favela on March 30.

However the entry was peaceful on Saturday, when some 2,700 soldiers, sailors and military police entered the slum at 6 am (0900 GMT).

Officials said their goal was to provide long-term security.

Residents went about their business, occasionally poking their heads out of windows to watch the soldiers as they entered their vast favela.

The troops include some 2,000 paratroopers, 450 sailors and 200 military police.

A huge slum "pacification" program has been in place since 2008 aimed at shoring up security across the city, which will also host the 2016 Olympics.

In recent years, Police Pacification Units (UPPs) have been installed in 174 Rio favelas, home to around 600,000 people.