Deaths and injuries reportedly occurred in violent clashes across Saturday and Sunday between Egyptian security forces and members of prominent families in the village of El Afarda near the city of Asyut in Upper Egypt.
Firearms were used during the confrontations, prompting the Ministry of Interior to deploy the “Black Cobra” unit, which specialises in executing high-risk operations in urban environments.
Amid the escalating tensions, authorities cut off electricity to three neighbouring villages, while security raids continue in pursuit of armed individuals affiliated with the families.
Eyewitnesses told The New Arab’s Arabic sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that intense clashes took place in the village of Al-Afarda in the Sahel Selim district of Asyut province, resulting in deaths and injuries among both the security forces and local residents.
They did not specify exactly how many people were killed and injured.
The Ministry of Interior decided to deploy the Black Cobra unit after the head of one of the families allegedly declared he possessed “toxic gas weapons” and issued a warning to the villagers and surrounding areas.
Though the exact reason for the unrest is not yet known, the fighting is thought have begun when the families protested against the reported killing of some of their family members in extra-judicial executions and “oppression” by the Ministry of Interior.Â
However, other reports indicate that clashes first occurred between two families, who turned on authorities when they intervened.Â
Other sources report that one of the families were affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, which prompted the unrest.Â
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior, security forces, led by Major General Wael Nassar, the Director of Asyut Security, received a report from Major General Mohamed Ezzat, the Director of Criminal Investigations, stating that an armed dispute had erupted between two families in the Sahel Selim district.
The statement added that ambulances and investigative officers were dispatched to the reported location, and a security cordon was established to break up the clashes between the Mahsoub family and the El Youha family.
This resulted in a power outage in three villages — El Afarda, El Tanagha, and El Jamayla.
The statement also indicated that “as soon as the forces arrived, dangerous criminal elements, who had judicial rulings issued against them, opened fire on the security forces, who returned fire. This led to power lines being severed in the village and a power outage in the three villages.”
The power outages affecting the three villages has continued, as security forces continue to surround the outlaws and pursue them using Black Cobra units.Â
