Dozens of armed men have ‘occupied’ a Sikh temple in Leamington Spa

Between 20 to 30 men armed with bladed weapons occupied a Sikh temple in Leamington Spa on Sunday afternoon.

According to Warwickshire police, the men entered the Gurdwara Sahib around 6.45am, where it is believed the men were attempting to prevent a wedding between a Sikh and non-Sikh from taking place. https://twitter.com/BBCCovWarks/status/774935239156195329 Jatinder Singh Birdi, a former treasurer at the Warwickshire temple said mixed marriages had been a contentious issue in the local Sikh community. Talking to the BBC, Jatinder said, "There have been tensions that have been going on for a couple of years with some people objecting to mixed marriages in taking place in the gurdwara. The general consensus is people are respectful of mixed marriages if the traditions are respected. Nothing has happened on this level before." https://twitter.com/monikaplaha/status/774963853654392832 Police were called to the temple, treating the situation as a case of aggravated trespassing.  They were keen to stress that the current situation not be treated as a terrorist incident. A police statement, as reported in The Metro, said, "We believe that some of the men are in possession of bladed items and as such armed officers have been deployed to the scene. Officers are inside the Temple to negotiate a peaceful resolution.’ At time of writing, 14 arrests have been made. We will bring you more information as it breaks.

Feature image via Ian Rob