4 die in water dispute
2008-09-07 21:10
Assuit - Egyptian police say four farmers died in a five-hour gun battle in southern Egypt between rival families over water rights.
Major General Ibrahim Sabir, security head of Egypt's southern city of Assuit, says the battle took place early on Sunday between rival families over access to an irrigation canal passing between their cotton fields.
Three other people were wounded.
Both sides used automatic weapons, he added. A curfew has been imposed and the search is on for the men involved.
Such incidents are not unusual in impoverished southern Egypt, which is dominated by heavily armed clans that often engage in vendettas.
- AP