(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater, Georgetown, Guyana) CARICOM Secretary-General His Excellency Edwin Carrington has expressed the hope that calm would soon return to the “traumatised communities and to the nation at large” following the slaying of 11 people in Lusignan, Guyana last Saturday.

In a note to the President of Guyana, His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo, condemning the murders the Secretary-General said the “appalling crime…demonstrated a singular disregard for human life and …has reverberated throughout the Community and beyond.”

Following is the full text of the note:

“The Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community and Staff of the Secretariat are shocked and horrified at the brutal killings which occurred in Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, Guyana, on Saturday, 26 January during which eleven innocent men, women and children were murdered in cold blood by an armed gang.

The Secretary-General and the Staff, some of whom are directly affected by the tragedy, strongly condemn this appalling crime which demonstrated a singular disregard for human life and which has reverberated throughout the Community and beyond.

In expressing heartfelt condolences to the families of those slain, the Secretary-General and Staff urge that the security forces move swiftly to bring to justice, those responsible for such an atrocious and traumatic act. We express the hope that calm will soon return to the traumatized communities and to the nation at large.”