1.   Against a background of murder and intimidation, armed gangs of young men took over.

2.   An armed gang stole jewels worth more than five million pounds.

3.   Armed gangs have hijacked lorries.

4.   An armed gang barged onto the train and began hacking and shooting anyone in sight.

5.   The meeting took place against the background of politically inspired violence in December in which several leading opposition figures had been attacked by unidentified armed gangs.

6.   A YOUNG family in west Belfast was held hostage while an armed gang robbed a warehouse in the south of the city on Monday evening.

7.   Armed Hutu gangs might revolt against their own leaders were they to make too many concessions to the Tutsi opposition.

8.   Armed gangs frequently crossed over from Chechnya, stealing cars, cattle or anything else they could take back.

9.   As heavily armed gangs fought over turf, murder rates shot up.

10.   At the same time, armed gangs with assault rifles in the trunks of their cars roam freely.