At least 19 people were wounded when a simmering feud between two villages erupted into a gun battle in the western Guangdong county of Wuchuan .
Witnesses said the villagers used rifles and homemade bombs in the melee, which was rooted in a dispute over a road construction project.
The violence was brought under control on Friday after local authorities brought in hundreds of police by bus and separated the two sides with blockades.
The injured were taken to hospitals in Wuchuan city and nearby Zhanjiang city . No deaths had been reported by yesterday.
The feuding villages have a long history of bitter rivalry, in Huangpo town. The residents from Xiaomeichen and Dameichen had argued over a road construction project that runs between the two settlements.
The local government tried to mediate for a few days, but neither side was willing to compromise. Then, at 9am on Friday, about 300 men from Dameichen village armed with long knives and iron clubs attacked Xiaomeichen villagers, said a witness.
But their move had been anticipated and the Xiaomeichen villagers retaliated with rifles and homemade bombs.
