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In Pictures: Residents mourn Aswan violence

Egyptians mourn in Aswan after several days of clan fighting earlier this month left 23 people dead and 40 injured.

Several homes were set ablaze and severely damaged during the deadly clashes.

By Al Jazeera

Published On 17 Apr 2014

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Deadly clashes broke out earlier this month in Aswan, a popular tourist spot in southern Egypt, with the renewal of a long-standing conflict between the Nubian tribe of Daboudiya and the Arab clan of Bani Helal, known as Haleyla.

The violence began on April 1 amid the remnants of a year-old family feud over the sexual harassment of a girl from one of the tribes. Offensive graffiti was later written on the wall of a school by students from the feuding families, leading to several days of deadly tribal violence.

People from both sides used gunfire and petrol bombs and several houses burned to the ground before police were able to stop the fighting, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement.

When the clashes ended on April 5, at least 23 people had been killed, while dozens more were injured.

Two photographers documented the aftermath of the violence in Aswan, and took testimonies from some of the survivors.

Other homes were looted by armed groups, and later were burned to the ground.
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Shriefa Hassan mourns her husband, who died after his house was set on fire.
Both sides complained about the inability of police to quell the tension. The Egyptian security forces struggled to break up the fighting.
The neighbourhood where the clashes flared is plagued by unemployment and poverty.
Nubian clan members blocked the town(***)s main street, and set carriages that belonged to the Arab clan ablaze.
Offensive graffiti scrawled on school walls fuelled the violence.
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People used makeshift weapons in the fighting, including gas pipes and Molotov cocktails.
Residents reported that livestock was stolen, and that some animals were burned alive.
Eighteen-year-old Abu Zied Khaled was shot in his leg.
Mostafa Attia, 44, lost seven members of his family including his wife and his brother.