Man died in 'extreme' violent clash in Sparkbrook
A man died during an outbreak of "extreme, planned violence" between two groups of men in Birmingham, the city's crown court has heard.
Ikram Ullah Khan, 28, was stabbed in the neck in the Stratford Road area of Sparkbrook on 2 July.
Seven men deny murder and conspiring to inflict grievous bodily harm with intent.
The two groups, of Afghan and Pakistani men, were armed with bats, sticks, knives and swords, the court was told.
'Armed and ready'
The Pakistani group had at least one firearm, a shotgun, with them, the jury heard.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Timothy Spencer said the defendants drove to the scene - Grantham Road and surrounding streets in Sparkbrook - in four cars.
"The other group - the opposition if you like - come mainly from the Pakistan community," he said.
"The prominent antagonists of that group were members of the same family, known as the Khan family."
He said the Pakistani group of men knew the defendants were coming and was "armed and ready for them".
Mr Spencer said the Afghan group was also armed.
"Both sides were armed with bats, sticks, knives and swords and the Pakistan group had at least one firearm, a shotgun.
"One man died from the Pakistan side and others were injured and seriously injured.
"Amongst those were two of the men in the dock."
'Not spontaneous violence'
He said it was likely that other people were injured in the disorder but they "melted away" afterwards.
The jury was told the motive for what happened was "frankly unclear" but as a matter of common sense, Mr Spencer said there must have been something behind what went on.
"This was not spontaneous violence," he said.
"There must have been some feud, some dispute, some grievance that lay behind the drastic outbreak of violence that took place."
The jury was shown CCTV footage of cars arriving at the scene at about 19:30 BST.
Two shots could be heard along with shouting and men walking and running in the road.
It was initially thought father-of-four Mr Khan, known locally as Ikram Elahi, had been shot, but post-mortem tests found his death was the result of a stab wound.
The seven men, who deny the charges, are:
- Khalid Jan, 23, of Ombersley Road, Sparkbrook
- Umar Zazai, 25, of no fixed address
- Sardar Khattak, 34, of Foxwell Road, Bordesley Green
- Mujahid Chambili, 23, of Adria Road, Sparkhill
- Mirwais Chambili, 18, also of Adria Road, Sparkhill
- Naweed Bashardost, 23, of Saint Saviours Road, Alum Rock
- Ezatullah Ahmadzai, 21, Bowyer Road, Alum Rock