Ten days after resentment over a land dispute erupted into a deadly clash that left three policemen and a civilian dead in Dong Tam Commune, My Duc District, villagers are wearily and warily returning to life as usual.

Offices in Vietnam are closed on weekends, but the committee’s office as well as the commune’s police station were open Sunday.

On Friday, barriers that had cordoned off and restricted entry to the commune were taken down, but the pall of gloom over locals is evident.

The deadly clash between protesters and law enforcement officers took place a week after some units of the Ministry of National Defense, in collaboration with local authorities, began building a fence for the Mieu Mon Military Airport at Hoanh Village in Dong Tam.

The encounter was the first time in decades that violence over a land dispute had claimed the lives of both law enforcers and civilians.

The incident disrupted normal life and preparations for the Lunar New Year, Tet, as they have begun much later than usual.

The country will enjoy a seven-day holiday for the Tet festival this year, staring January 23.

Work on the fence for the Mieu Mon Military Airport has been completed. The steel wire fence carries no trespassing signs in Vietnamese and English.

As life returns to normal, strangers to the commune are still eyed with some suspicion by the locals.

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