Two men were killed during a shootout with police after gunmen fired upon and set fire to a police station in Pikin Saron, south of the capital Paramaribo, on Tuesday.
Chief of Police, Ruben Kensen confirmed the deaths adding that the bodies have been taken to the morgue.
The police said that a number of employees of the state-owned mining company, Grassalco which operate a gold mine in the area, and who had been taken hostage by the gunmen at the mine in Maripaston, have since been freed.
Police said that the insurgents belong to the Kaliña Amerindian tribe who rioted because they are dissatisfied with the alleged treatment of the indigenous people by the Surinamese government.
The police said that the riot began at around 6 am local time and video footage posted on social media showed residents of the area expressing displeasure with the government’s handling of their rights and interests and suggesting that the escalation followed government contempt for their position.
