The public security bureau of Jiexi county in Guangdong Province arrested eight people Friday suspected of being hired by a village leader to attack his own villagers after he claimed he was attacked by them, the Nanfang Daily reported.

County authorities said that on the morning of February 22, village committee director, Li Baoyu, called police to report he was attacked in his office and injured by six masked thugs. Less than an hour later, police say, Li hired his own thugs from other villages and ordered them to attack residents of Shangpu village, said the newspaper.

According to county police the fight injured four residents and damaged at least 26 vehicles, two of which were burned. Police earlier arrested Li, and on Friday eight other assailants were detained. The police are still hunting for  10 other men.

It is not entirely clear what caused the clash, but according to AFP it was triggered by a controversial land deal that would turn some of the village's rice fields into an industrial zone.

A land contract signed by the Shangpu village committee was revoked after Li's arrest, reported AFP. 

After the clash, Jiexi county authorities sent nearly 300 officials from Jiexi and surrounding counties and towns to Shangpu for face-to-face conversations with residents and to instruct them on rationally expressing their needs.

Global Times