PARAMARIBO, Suriname (Reuters/ Caribbean Net News) — Police and troops on Christmas Day put down a riot and looting rampage in Albina, a Surinamese town bordering French Guiana, in violence which wounded 13 people, a government minister said.

The riots were sparked by the death on Thursday of a resident stabbed by a Brazilian suspect, now in custody, said Justice and Police Minister Chandrikapersad Santokhi.

He told a news conference between 100 and 500 people looted a shopping mall and other stores. They also seized the safe of a gold retailer.

At least 80 frightened residents sought refuge in an army barracks.

Albina, a town of about 5,000 people, is the main crossing point to the French territory of French Guiana.

Firemen from Saint Laurent du Maroni, the town on the French side, helped extinguish the fires.

Tensions have brewed in Albina between Brazilian gold prospectors and native Surinamese, including Amerindians, who have a high unemployment rate, but those tensions have long simmered in Albina.

Aaccording to a BBC report, Suriname authorities are reported to have stepped up patrols in the region.

It stated that last week’s violence began after a Brazilian man reportedly stabbed a local man, provoking townspeople to take revenge.

Brazilians living in the Albina were attacked and the violence spread to businesses owned by Chinese migrants.

The town, home to some 5,000 people, is the main crossing point into the French territory of French Guiana.

The Brazilian government sent an Air Force plane to Suriname at the weekend to bring several of their nationals back to Brazil.

Brazil’s ambassador to Suriname, Jose Luiz Machado e Costa, visited Albina and said he could not confirm earlier reports that Brazilians had been killed. He told Brazilian website Folha Online that 25 people had been injured in the violence.

Brazilian officials say the Government of Suriname has promised all possible steps will be taken to guarantee the safety of Brazilian migrants in the country.

There are estimated to be up to 18,000 Brazilians living in Surriname, a former Dutch colony of some half a million people.
Many of the Brazilians crossed over the border to prospect for gold.