Four Egyptian farmers were killed in a gun battle in the south of the country Sunday as two families battled over water rights, police reports said. The battle erupted over the use of an irrigation pipe, police said, disclosing t hat the battle lasted five hours, ending in the four deaths. Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Sabir, head of Egyptian security in the southern city of Assuit, said the battle occurred early Sunday between the two families trying to gain access to an irrigation canal passing between their cotton fields. Three others were wounded, he said, adding both sides used automatic weapons in the scuffle. Reports say that since the fight, a curfew has been imposed in the area and a search is currently underway for the men involved. Armed clashes often erupt between the heavily armed clans in southern Egypt where poverty has stricken many of them, causing unrest. Water issues have become one of Egypt’s most concerning threats to stability, especially in the south where families depend on their farmlands for survival.
