Joint Services ranks were yesterday deployed to Enachu, some 170 miles up the Essequibo River and some ten miles from the mining community of Kurupung after reports that a gang of gunmen went into a camp there.

There were reports of the gunmen being engaged by the police but up to press time, there were no reports of any fatalities.

Police, in a press release had said that the Joint Services had responded to a report received of an armed robbery at a mining camp at Enachu around 3.15 pm, but no other information was available yesterday.

‘E’ and ‘F’ Division Commander confirmed yesterday that a contingent was sent into the area but said he had not received any reports of deaths.

Since the February 17 incident at Bartica, in which 12 men were killed by gunmen, the Joint Services has maintained a presence at Bartica, the gateway to the interior. On that day, gunmen numbering around 20 descended upon the community and in an hour-long rampage murdered 12 persons before escaping by river. It has not yet been determined whether the men escaped upriver or downriver though the police have carried out searches in several areas.