At least 18 people were killed in a gunfight between two feuding tribes in southern Egypt, media reports said Saturday.

The fighting between al—Halail and al—Dabudia tribes in the city of Aswan raged until the early hours of Saturday, state—run newspaper al—Ahram reported online.

It wasn’t immediately clear what triggered the violence and use of automatic weapons, and the report only referred to an old dispute.

Security forces have been deployed in the area to prevent further violence. Protracted tribal feuds are common in the southern part of the country.