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A group of gunmen have gone on a rampage in
Guyana, killing 11 people, including five
children.
YoTubeModerator
Decries this despicable crime against an
ethnic race, and calls for the international
community to voice their resentment.
The gunmen burst into the village of Lusignan
east of the capital Georgetown on Saturday,
firing on several houses. Five children were
among the dead.
It was said to be the country's worst mass
killing for more than 30 years.
Officials suspect a criminal gang acting on
the orders of the country's most wanted man,
Rondell Rawlins, who police say accuses
government forces of kidnapping his pregnant
girlfriend.
The attack has raised fears of racial strife.
Lusignan is mostly ethnic Indian, while
Rondell Rawlins and his followers come from
the ethnic African community.
The country's 760,000 population is almost
evenly split between the two communities.
$150,000 reward
Residents of Lusignan and other nearby
villages blocked roads with burning tyres and
other debris, hours after Mr Jagdeo promised
to provide them with weapons and other
resources to help police their communities.
Police have also offered a reward of $150,000
for Mr Rawlins' capture.
But villagers say security forces have done
too little to combat the gang, which has been
active for the past six years.
In Saturday's incident, unidentified gunmen
kicked down the doors of five wooden houses
in Lusignan, shooting at inhabitants within.
The dead include a man, his wife and their
granddaughter in one house, and a mother and
her two children in another, news agency AFP
reported.
Local people screamed and wept on the streets
of the village after the killings.
Later, as many as 300 people from the
neighbouring town of Mon Repos started fires
on the roads to Lusignan and vowed to form
vigilante groups to avenge the killings.
"We want justice!" they cried. "Government
can't protect us! We want more police!"
Telephone threats
Hours before the village massacre, heavily
armed gunmen had also attacked the
headquarters of the Guyana police force,
injuring two policemen.
On Wednesday, in the criminal haven of
Buxton, east of Georgetown, gunmen engaged
Guyanese soldiers in a firefight that left
one soldier dead and another seriously
injured.
Police said Rondell Rawlins himself had made
telephone threats following the disappearance
of his 18-year-old girlfriend.
The gang is said to consist of about 20
heavily armed men engaged in "urban warfare".
Mr Rawlins is also wanted over the murder of
a government minister in 2006.
Tags : Guyana Massacres 11 dead in guyana politics Obama Hillary commentary analysis |
