UK police make arrests after armed men occupy Sikh temple

Police made arrests for aggravated trespass after 20 to 30 men, some armed with blades, occupied a Sikh temple in central England yesterday. A Sikh youth group said it was protesting the temple’s use for interfaith weddings.
The Warwickshire Police force said officers were called to the Gurdwara Sahib Leamington and Warwick temple in Leamington Spa, a town 160 kilometers northwest of London.
The force said some of the men “are in possession of bladed items,” though it didn’t say of what kind. Some Sikh men wear a ceremonial dagger known as a kirpan.
Several hours after the incident began, police said they had made “a number of arrests” on suspicion of aggravated trespass.
Police said the incident wasn’t related to terrorism, but was “an escalation of an ongoing local dispute.”
A group called Sikh Youth Birmingham said on its Facebook page that a peaceful protest was taking place against an interfaith wedding due to be held at the temple. They said they were upholding the “sanctity” of the Sikh religious wedding ceremony.
Some Sikhs have previously objected to mixed-faith weddings taking place at Sikh temples.
Jatinder Singh Birdi, a former treasurer at the Leamington temple, told the BBC that “there have been tensions that have been going on for a couple of years,” but “nothing has happened on this level before.” AP