Madrid's fiercely competitive Chinese community is embroiled in a bitter "sandwich war" in which knife fights can settle issues.
The battles often are over location as rival clans compete to supply the Spanish capital's night-owls with snacks. At least four people have been stabbed this year as clans fight over street corners, police say.
Chinese vendors of beer and cola and bulky sandwiches filled with scarlet sausage are a familiar sight to anyone in the city centre's streets in the early hours. Sellers perch their modest wares on cardboard boxes and do a roaring trade, but keep an eye out for the police.
Their trade is illegal -- street food sales are banned -- but it is profitable, Britain's Independent reports.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
