Hong Kong ? In the latest case of unrest afflicting the Chinese countryside, at least 15 people were wounded, some seriously, when a gun battle broke out in a land dispute between two villages in southern Guangdong province.

Residents said tension that had been brewing for years intensified last fall when Xiaomeichen residents decided to build a road through neighboring Dameichen, both in Huangpo county.

Things came to a head Friday, when Dameichen residents tried to stop the project, reportedly prompting several people from rival Xiaomeichen to pose as policemen and shoot at them. A local resident who asked not to be identified said at least 400 villagers were involved. Among the 15 wounded was a Huangpo policeman shot in the foot, he added.

“It was a terrible fight,” the man said.

It was unknown how many of the wounded were from each town.

Several hundred policemen have been called in from the surrounding area to quell the violence. So far, no arrests have been made, the man said, in part because Xiaomeichen and its residents are politically linked to a retired, but still powerful, local Communist Party secretary.