Mass brawl turns into shootout in Russian Caucasus

9 Aug, 2011 05:22 / Updated 13 years ago

Seven people have been killed after a mass fight turned violent in the Russian Caucasus republic of Dagestan on Tuesday, with a small child among the dead. Several others were hospitalized with minor injuries.

Residents of two clan communities took to their guns near a local hospital as the conflict went beyond control. Around 10 people were involved in the fight, the cause of which remains uncertain. Earlier on Tuesday morning two dead bodies were found some two kilometers away from the Gimry community, which the police believe may have been the cause of the hospital shooting. An investigation brigade is working out possible motives of the conflict and the details of the case are to be determined. Two weeks ago in a similar fight which broke out in a group of 10-15 people in Dagestan one young man was killed and four wounded. The catalyst for the deaths was said to be a domestic conflict.