Guyana assailants kill 12, including three police

Police line (File photo)

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, February 18, 2008 - Gunmen have killed 12 people in a daring assault on a police station in the small mining village of Bartica in southwestern Guyana, the second massacre in less than a month.

Reports in local media indicate three officers and nine civilians were killed, and six more civilians were wounded in the attack.

The assailants stormed the police station late Sunday (February 17) wearing military fatigues and armed with assault rifles.

The massacre occurred during an hour long assault, forcing the Bharrat Jagdeo administration to postpone the reading of the national budget scheduled for today (February 18).

Sunday's incident came less than one month after the January 26 massacre of 11 people in their homes in the village of Lusignan east of Georgetown.

State-owned television reported a joint team of soldiers and police were deployed to the area to track down the gunmen.