A RAMPAGE by several gunmen in the East Coast village of Lusignan, which left 11 persons dead, had security forces last evening looking for the country’s most wanted man, while at the same time battling angry residents whose protests ground the East Coast corridor to a standstill.

President Bharrat Jagdeo assembled his security chiefs hours after the “terror” killings Saturday morning and vowed that the criminals would be hunted down.

The Police have made a $30M offer for information leading to the arrest of the country’s most wanted man - Rondell ‘Fine Man’ Rawlins, while not saying directly that he was connected to the slayings.

The Joint Services are advising members of the public to be extra vigilant at this time and urged that they report any suspicious or strange activity which they may observe in their communities.

The Joint Services are also calling on all members of the society to “remain calm in the face of adversity and stability will return to the society.”

Rawlins is believed to be behind Saturday night’s attack on Police headquarters at Eve Leary, which left two junior Police officers wounded. Apart from numerous murders, he is also wanted for the assassination of Minister of Agriculture Satyadeow Sawh, who was slain with two of his siblings in April, 2006.

President Jagdeo declared at a press briefing that the criminals who stormed the Lusignan homes came from Buxton, long believed to be a safe haven for armed, dangerous criminals.

The incident is being described as the worst mass slaying in Guyana’s recent history, and as news spread, it occupied the main headlines of the world’s leading news agencies.

President Jagdeo, political leaders and religious leaders urged for calm, over fears that the killings were of the magnitude to spark ethnic tension. Last evening, religious leaders took to East Coast communities with loudspeakers appealing for restraint.

The gunmen took control of “Track A” Lusignan, some 10 miles east of the capital Georgetown, at about 2:00 h, and maintained rapid gunfire for about 20 minutes during which they stormed five homes and killed 11 persons, including five children.

Dead are: Claren Thomas, 48; Vanessa Thomas 12; Ron Thomas, 11; Mohandan Goordat, 32; Seegopaul Harilall, 10; Seegobin Harilall,4; Dhanwajie Ramsingh,52; Seecharran Rooplall, 56; Raywattie Ramsingh, 11; Shazam Mohammed, 22; Shaleem Baksh, 52.

As the families of those dead mourned, residents on the East Coast of Demerara, erupted in anger, and President Jagdeo dispatched Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and government ministers to try to ease flaring tension.

President Bharrat Jagdeo himself visited with the families of those killed, and he also visited other uneasy communities.

“I know that there is a tremendous amount of fear on the East Coast and that we need to alleviate the fear that these communities have,” President Jagdeo said as he announced that the security forces would “dominate” the East Coast.

“They need to mobilise; it may take a bit of time to do so because they have to bring people in line, the policemen, and soldiers have to be brought from other bases. I expect by the end of the day that we will see a visible presence of the security forces on the East Coast, in the communities,” President Jagdeo said.

Starting from Mon Repos, just a mile off Lusignan, residents offloaded a truckload of sand at the railway embankment, and tyres were set alight, preventing traffic from flowing either way. On the main road, residents placed pile upon pile of debris and set it alight, forcing those who desperately wanted to pass to use the rail of the bridge.

A pensioner couple, with fear in their eyes, dared to make the crossing, while a Hindu priest leading a funeral procession to perform a cremation expressed frustration at being unable to pass freely.

Thick black smoked engulfed communities further down, as similar acts of protest rippled through. Markets at Annandale and Mon Repos, which usually draw hundreds on Saturdays, were deserted.

In the afternoon, stores in Georgetown closed early as the incident spread fear across the country.

Just before sunset, Police prevented the situation from escalating to Cove and John, six miles east of Lusignan.

The Joint Services issued a statement calling for those who had no essential business to avoid the Lusignan/Annandale corridor.

The international community expressed solidarity with Guyana and said they were confident that the country would rise out of this challenge.

The United States Ambassador, and High Commissioners of the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union said the killings were “brutal”.

The Opposition Leader, Mr. Robert Corbin, appealed for calm too and urged that the situation not descend into ethnic mayhem.

President Jagdeo said only “sick, demented cowards” could kill children and appealed for calm.