Mass Roma Fights Break Out in 2 Bulgarian Towns

Pictured: Residents of the Roma ghetto in the Bulgarian town of Petrich which has become known for its frequent clan melees. Photo by BGNES

Mass fights between local Roma clans have broken out in two towns in Southwestern Bulgaria in unrelated incidents.

A mass fight among Roma broke out in the southwestern city of Blagoevgrad Wednesday night, resulting in four wounded men being admitted to the local hospital, BGNES reported.

After they were hospitalized, dozens of Roma arrived in front of the hospital, starting to behave aggressively, leading to a mobilization of the local police that managed to reign in the tension.

The cause of the Roma melee in Blagoevgrad is still unclear but at least one of them is reported arrested as a result of assaulting the police in front of the local hospital.

In a separate but very similar incident, an even larger-scale mass fight broke out in the Roma ghetto of the southwestern Bulgarian town of Petrich Wednesday afternoon.

The fight resulted from the rekindling of a long-standing animosity between two local Roma clans – Mechovtsi and Resovtsi – leading to the use of axes, knives, and even guns.

One man has been hospitalized with severe head wounds, and one man has been arrested by the local police.

The hostilities between the two Roma clans in Petrich first broke out in May 2012, when a mass fight resulted from mutual accusations over the Lesbian relationship of two girls from the opposing clans. This has been followed by regular Roma melees in the Petrich ghetto.

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