Citizens troubled by Bermuda's gang violence took a message of peace into the heart of the communities worst affected on Saturday.

Around 300 people joined a mass walk organised by campaign group Rise Above, Bermuda.

The route took them from St. Monica's Road through the sections of Pembroke blighted by the violence of rival 42, Parkside and Middletown groups. It ended up at Victor Scott School.

Four people lost their lives to what are believed to be gang-related shootings during 2009, and 13 were injured.

Wayne Caines, a founding member of Rise Above and the CEO of the Digicel phone company said: "We went to each of the neighbourhoods and stopped and had prayer. It went very well. The crowd was diverse, there were people from all backgrounds, white, black, rich and poor."

A number of clergy members and politicians were among the walkers. Mr. Caines explained: "We wanted to do a march for Bermudians to speak up, break the silence and end the violence."

The effort was part of a 30-day campaign launched by the group on December 9, days after the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Kumi Harford on St. Monica's Road. It embraces 30 direct actions under the umbrellas of community, youth, faith, gang intervention and mentoring, which include work to establish safe houses for gang members, support groups for their relatives and mentoring of young people.

The walk was organised by Norwood Salaam, of the gang intervention branch of the group. More information can be gleaned by visiting www.riseabovebermuda.org or the group's profile on Facebook.