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Egyptian court sentences 24 to death

19 May 2009 07:30 (UTC +04:00)

Cairo â€“ APA. An Egyptian court sentenced 24 people to death on murder charges for taking part in a gunfight last year in a dispute over agricultural land in the Nile Delta in which 11 people were killed, court sources said, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The gunbattle erupted last March in the northern province of Beheira between two groups of private security men - employed by two rival associations that both claimed title to the land - when one side tried to take the land by force from the other.
As many as 27 people were hurt in the clashes over the 500 acre (200 hectare) plot.

Land disputes are not uncommon in Egypt, where arable land is limited to a thin sliver along the Nile and the river delta in the north. Many absentee landlords hire armed guards to drive out or prevent squatters from settling on the land.
Security sources said nine of those sentenced to death on Monday had been tried in absentia.