SPIRALLING numbers of shootings between sections of the Turkish community in Enfield and elsewhere in recent months has led to a series of covert operations by Enfield police and neighbouring forces.

Since August there have been ten “potentially linked” reports of shots being fired across Enfield, Haringey, Islington and Hackney, police have said.

The violence is thought to be related to feuds between two rival groups within the Turkish community.

Three of these attacks were in Enfield and took place on August 27 and 28, with several people receiving minor injuries. On August 27, just after midnight, a man had minor neck injuries after a shooting inside a property in Bury Street, Edmonton. Later the same day, at 11.30pm, a man was shot at an address in Enfield.

On August 28, at 7pm, shots were fired in a property in Green St, Enfield, leaving one man with minor injuries. One man has been arrested in connection with the incident and is currently on bail.

The total spread of shootings across the four boroughs starts on August 11 in Seven Sisters Road, Tottenham, with the most recent on September 30 in Lansdowne Road, Tottenham.

Police have arrested 12 people and charged nine over these incidents, with the remaining three released with no further action.

Three of the men arrested were from Enfield and appeared in Enfield Magistrates Court last Friday charged with drugs offences.

This escalation in crime was a factor in the police’s announcement that armed officers would begin regular patrols in Haringey and other gun crime hotspots for the first time in October, a move which was then dropped by Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson.

A task force has now been set up with officers drafted from a number of units from within the Met, including officers from Trident, a unit which specialises in tackling gun crime.

A series of covert operations is also taking place across the four boroughs.

Enfield’s borough commander Dave Tucker, also met with his counterparts in Haringey, Hackney, and Islington, as well as Turkish community leaders and councillors, to discuss the issue earlier this month.

The Met has also appealed for the public’s help. A statement said: “We need the help of the community who act as our eyes and ears and need to come forward to assist us with crucial elements of our investigations around these incidents.”

Anyone with information can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.