The incident took place during reconciliation talks at a rest house in Al-Sail area near Taif held to reduce tensions over a land dispute two-and-a-half years ago.

There are eight main accused in the case, including the gunman, his father, four brothers and two uncles. They were brought into court from Taif prison under the blanket of heavy security. They were then cross examined by the judge.

The second sitting of the trial proceedings lasted for one hour. Arab News carried detailed story about the first sitting of the trial three weeks ago. Close relatives of the victims were also present in the court. They appealed the judge to hand down maximum punishment to the culprits. The court would resume the trial later.

The gruesome shooting incident took place at Al-Wasiliyah rest house in Al-Sail Al-Sagheer located north of Taif in June 2008. The murder was following a dispute over a plot of land in Wadi Qiran near Al-Sail Road.

Members of two families belonging to the same tribe were involved in the dispute. The tribal chiefs agreed to hold reconciliation talks and to settle the differences amicably. They agreed to invite chiefs of other tribes also to facilitate reconciliation.

Accordingly, they convened at the rest house, and they were successful in reaching reconciliation before Isha prayer.

However, after some time, a dispute broke out again among members of the hostile groups, and then one of them started firing indiscriminately at members of the rival group, killing six and wounding 17 others. Five of the victims were brothers while the sixth was a son of one of the brothers.