E/CN.4/1993/62 page 30 The article focused on two main aspects: the scale of the incidents that took place in the town of Dairut in the governorate of Asyut, and the measures taken by the State to deal with those incidents. We wish to comment on those points as follows: A. The scale of the incidents On 9 March 1992, a quarrel broke out at the village of Manshiyat Nasir in the district of Dairut in the governorate of Asyut between Abdullah Masoud Jirjis (a Christian) and members of his family (the Al-Arab family), on the one hand, and members of another family (the Al-Gawayila) from the same village, some of whom belonged to extremist groups. The cause of the dispute was the unwillingness of the first party to agree to sell their house to the second party after a contract had been concluded for its sale to another person (a Muslim). When the dispute escalated, firearms were used and three persons were killed (one Christian from the Al-Arab family and two Muslims from the Al-Gawayila family, one of whom was an extremist). Six other persons from the two parties were also wounded (four Christians and two Muslims). The Department of Public Prosecutions conducted an investigation and ordered the detention of two members of the Al-Arab family and two members of the Al-Gawayila family, who were released 45 days later pending prosecution in Dairut district criminal case No. 2425 of 1992. On 14 April 1992, the body of the son of the Christian Abdullah Masoud Jirjis (one of the parties to the dispute and an employee of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Asyut, where he was living) was found in a street in the town of Asyut. The victim had been stabbed several times and investigations indicated that the incident had occurred within the context of the vendetta between the two families as a result of the previous events. On 4 May 1992, the vendetta between the two parties once again exploded, as a result of which 13 Christians and one Muslim were killed and four other persons from the two parties were injured. The investigation showed that the persons responsible for those revenge killings had committed those acts mainly in the agricultural areas outside the village boundaries in order to avoid confrontation with the security forces and eventual arrest. Intensive security operations led to the identification and arrest of the persons suspected of committing those acts (some of whom were in their fifties), in addition to the extremist members of the Al-Gawayila family who had instigated and participated in those acts. B. Measures taken to deal with those incidents The State promptly took a number of precautionary and security measures to maintain order and protect citizens in that district. Police reinforcements were dispatched to the scene of the incidents and also to the