MAKKAH: The regional directorate of the Ministry of Social Affairs in Makkah province ordered financial assistance to the dependents of six men who were killed in a June 3 shootout at a rest house in Taif, according to an official with the department.
“After formal investigations, including interviews with the family members of the victims, the directorate learned that the children, widows and other relatives of the victims require both immediate and long-term assistance,” said Ali Al-Hanaki, social welfare director at the ministry’s regional directorate, who also called on charity groups to help out.
Four Taif-based organizations have come forward with some aid. Some of the families are living in Jeddah.
The shooting took place at a rest house that had been rented for reconciliation talks involving two families in a disputed land claim at Wadi Qiran near Al-Sail.
Local heads of several tribes were present to act as mediators between the two families.
The two sides had reportedly come to an agreement on most of the points of contention when a man came in and opened fire on members of one of the families.
The shooting resulted in the deaths of six men, all of them members of one side in the conflict. Five of the men were brothers and the sixth was a nephew. Police have given few details about the shooter.
