General information
Type of Incompatibility: Not applicable
Date of first battle related death: 2008-01-25
Comment on first battle related death: On 25 January 2008, gunmen carried out an attack on Lusignan, a low-income community, killing eleven people, five of whom were children. The attack was claimed by Rondell Rawlins, who contacted a local newspaper to take responsibility for the killings. Rawlins had previously threatened to create mayhem at police headquarters if his reputed wife, Tenisha Morgan, who had been missing for two weeks, was not returned safely. Rawlins accused the police of abducting Morgan, then 18 years old and pregnant, a claim authorities denied. Following the Lusignan attack, Rawlins pledged further violence if Morgan did not reappear. Police were pursuing three individuals suspected of kidnapping her.
Date of conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: 2008-06-17
Comment on conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: The Buxton gang first became active as a one-sided actor in 2008, when the one-sided violence resulted in over 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached in June that year when the gang tortured and killed eight miners, the third attack on civilians that year.
Annual information
This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.
2008
Primary Parties: Buxton gang - Civilians
Dimension: One-sided
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 30 |
| Best | 29 |
| Low | 29 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
Conflict Archive
This section contains annual information no longer systematically collected by the UCDP.
2008 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: In January 2008 Rawlins’ 18-year old, pregnant girlfriend disappeared from a bus stop in Buxton and suspecting the security forces for the kidnapping, Rawlins called the police threatening to create mayhem in the country if she was not released. On January 25 the Buxton gang attacked the Guyanese Police Headquarters injuring two policemen and a couple of hours later they appeared in the village of Lusignan east of Georgetown. The gunmen kicked down the doors of five wooden houses and killed 12 people including five children.
On February 17 the gang attacked civilians again when they stormed the mining town of Bartica and fled in a speed boat. 13 people were killed, including three policemen. On June 24 the gang carried out the third massacre of the year as they tortured and killed eight miners in Lindo Creek. After an intensive hunt for the gang, security forces shot dead Rawlins and two of his comrades in a shootout in August.
Although Rawlins only claimed responsibility for the attack in Lusignan, ballistic tests has proved that the gang also committed the other two massacres as well as the murder of the Agricultural Minister in 2006.
Comment on Yearly Battle Related Deaths: Between January and June 2008, the Buxton gang killed at least 29 people.
Terminated: NO
