23 killed in feud between families in south Egypt

LUXOR, Egypt -- A bloody feud in southern Egypt between an Arab clan and a Nubian family killed at least 23 people in two days of fighting, leaving bodies strewn on hospital floors and homes torched in its wake, government officials and witnesses said yesterday.

An Interior Ministry statement said the fighting in Aswan province erupted over the harassment of a girl, and students from the two sides later sprayed offensive graffiti at a local school. Vendetta killings are common in southern Egypt, where perceived violations of honor often spark violence, but this violence apparently raged while security forces did nothing to stop it.

Nubian students' graffiti accused members of the Arab Haleyla clan of working for the former governments of ousted President Hosni Mubarak and overthrown Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, witnesses said. They said graffiti sprayed earlier last week on the school wall accused the Nubians of backing the military after a community delegation met former military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. El-Sissi, who led the military overthrow of Morsi, is now running for president.

A security official also said tensions come from accusations that some Arab Haleyla members take part in an arms and drugs smuggling ring. Aswan is a way station for a smuggling ring from Sudan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to speak to journalists.

A Nubian resident who asked not to use his name for fear of retribution said he locked himself and his family inside their house, fearing revenge attacks. He said two members of his family were killed in the fighting.

"There is terror now in the area," he said. "At the outset, we'd call the police and they tell us, 'You work it out.' "

Authorities said more than a dozen schools in the area will be closed indefinitely until calm is restored.

Adel Abu Bakr, a Nubian resident of Aswan, said members of the Arab Haleyla first beat a Nubian and then shot dead three Nubians on Friday, including a woman. Another Nubian was killed later that night, he said. After their funerals, hundreds of Nubians attacked the Arab neighborhood, killing over a dozen people using mostly sticks and daggers, he said.

Health official Mohammed Azmi told private television station CBC that 23 people were killed and 12 are in critical condition.

The Interior Ministry said police officers attempted to negotiate a truce late Friday and arrested three people, but fighting resumed yesterday. Later yesterday, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab and the interior minister traveled to Aswan to mediate.