09:30, 05 May 2009 | GMT +5
Gunmen kill at least 44 at wedding in Turkey
ANKARA. May 5. KAZINFORM. Masked assailants with grenades and automatic weapons attacked a wedding ceremony in southeast Turkey on Monday, killing 44 people and wounding 20 others. Two girls survived after the bodies of slain friends fell on top of them during the onslaught; Kazinform refers to China Daily.

NTV television quoted Deputy Gov. Ferhat Ozen of Mardin province as saying the nighttime attack occurred in Bilge village near the city of Mardin. Some media outlets reported that a "blood feud" among families had led to the killings in a region where tribal ties and rivalries sometimes eclipse the power of the state.
Mehmet Besir Ayanoglu, the mayor of Mardin, told Channel 24 that he spoke to two survivors, both girls, who said at least two masked men stormed a house where the wedding took place. Other reports put the number of assailants at four.
Anatolia news agency said at least 44 people died and three were seriously injured in the attack, which lasted 15 minutes. NTV reported the same death toll, and said 20 people were wounded.
Citing witnesses, HaberTurk television said four masked gunmen were involved. The attack occurred during the wedding of the daughter of Cemil Celebi, a former village official who was among the wounded.
An Islamic cleric who was presiding over the marriage died at a hospital, NTV said. The fate of the bride and groom was not immediately known. The attack killed an entire family, including the parents and their six children, aged between three and 12.
For years, Turkey has struggled over how to trim the 70,000-strong village guard force without releasing masses of trained fighters onto the streets of the southeast, where unemployment in some areas reaches 50 percent. The system is one of the few lucrative sources of employment in the region.
The conflict between Kurdish guerrillas and government forces has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984; Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version.