text: Three dead in Kurd militia blood feud in Turkey . DIYARBAKIR , Turkey 1996-12-06 Three people were killed on Friday in a gun battle between rival groups of anti-guerrilla militiamen on the streets of this southeastern Turkish city , police said . Four others were wounded in the clash , caused by a blood feud between two families , the Kesers and Karabuluts , serving as state-paid village guards against Kurdish rebels . Police said the guards fired automatic weapons at each other . One of the dead was a civilian passer-by . The role of the 70,000 mainly Kurdish village guards who fight Kurdistan Workers Party ( PKK ) guerrillas in the southeast has been questioned recently after media allegations that many of them are involved in common crime . The head of the region 's main pro-state militia is at the centre of a security scandal that has shaken the government . More than 21,000 people have been killed in the 12-year-old conflict between Turkish security forces and the PKK , fighting for Kurdish autonomy or independence .