CAIRO, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Four people died and nine others were injured in two separate violent confrontations between families in two Egyptian villages, government officials said.
The Interior Ministry said disputes over land and flirtatious behavior resulted in the clashes that lasted more than three hours Tuesday, al-Masry al-Youm reported Wednesday.
The ministry said five houses and several fields were set on fire and that security officials surrounded the villages of Zawyet al-Masloub and Maydoum to prevent further fighting.
The first fight broke out between families from Zawyet al-Masloub when a member of one family allegedly flirted with a woman from the other family, al-Masry al-Youm said. The two families used sticks, stones, Molotov cocktails and other weapons.
That fight left three people dead and six injured. Officials said family members prevented firefighters from putting out burning homes and a fire at a cotton gin.
The second confrontation occurred in Maydoum between a family that had sold some land and was trying to force out a renter who refused to leave, al-Masry al-Youm reported.
That fight resulted in one death and three injuries.
Police said 13 people from the four families were arrested.
