CIVIL UNREST FOLLOWING DEATH OF A RESIDENT OF ALBINA

Hundreds of police officers were deployed to a small town in Suriname on 25 December 2009 after the death of a local resident sparked ethnic tensions. Authorities stated that rioting erupted in the town of Albina after news spread that a Brazilian suspect had stabbed and killed a local man. Reports indicate that many shops and businesses were looted during the civil unrest and other buildings were set on fire. Representatives of the Surinamese government stated that the rioting stems from ethnic tensions that exist between local Amerindians and Brazilian contractors brought in to work in gold mines in the Albina region.