Gunmen kill 12 in Guyanese town

CARACAS, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Three police officers and nine civilians died during an attack on a police station in southeast Guyana gold-and-diamond mining town Bartica, according to news reaching here on Monday.

The robbers arrived on Sunday night in Bartica, about 130 km southeast of Guyana capital Georgetown, via a speedboat on the Essequibo River and loaded their boat with the police station's guns and fled the same way after the bloody shootout.

At least seven civilians suffered injuries during the clash. One of the injured is a 16-year-old Brazilian, five are Guayanese, and the other has not been identified.

A Guyanese government spokesman said it had put in place an operation to find the attackers, and postponed a presentation of the 2008 budget, previously set for Monday.

Three weeks ago, 11 people died in the village of Lusignan when heavily armed men fired indiscriminately on residents.

Guayanese police have not said if the two cases are linked. Police are also currently seeking an armed gang led by fugitive Rondell Rawlins, who has a price of 250,000 U.S. dollars on his head.