Rupununi Uprising
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The Rupununi Uprising was an act of insurrection that occurred in Guyana beginning on 2 January 1969. The police station in the town of Lethem, the administrative center of the Rupununi District, was attacked by ranchers, mainly from the Hart and Melville families, who were armed with bazookas and automatic weapons.
Lethem Police Station was completely wrecked by bazooka shells and policemen were riddled by bullets as they tried to escape. Annai and Good Hope stations were seized and the personnel held captive along with other Government officials and civilians in the abbattoir at Lethem.
Five policemen and one civilian were killed, the government dispenser was shot and wounded, and a number of persons, including the District Commissioner and his wife, were herded into the abbattoir and held hostage.
News about the insurrection reached Georgetown by midday that day and policemen and soldiers were flown in to Manari by Guyana Airways. When the government forces moved on Lethem the rebels fled, eventually going across the Brazilian border.
