Citizen's Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said illegal gun ownership would be upgraded from a misdemeanour to a crime, and gun licenses nationwide would be re-examined.

Two people died in a firefight Saturday in the mountain village of Vorizia, a 39-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman, one from each family.

The shootout erupted hours after a house under construction belonging to one family was blown up with dynamite.

Heavily armed police were rushed to the village. The citizen's protection ministry said over 200 additional officers would now be stationed on Crete permanently to tackle crimes including arms smuggling, cannabis cultivation and cattle raiding.

Law-abiding citizens are "afraid to register a complaint", Crete governor Stavros Arnaoutakis told state TV ERT.

The authorities have made several arrests in Vorizia, but have so far not located most of the weapons used in the clash, including shotguns and at least one AK-47 assault rifle.

Illegal gun ownership is rife on Crete, and family vendettas arising out of perceived insults are common.

Guns are also often fired to mark weddings, baptisms and festivals. Last month, a 23-year-old shot and killed a 52-year-old man during a village celebration in western Crete.

A campaign in 2005, backed by the late Cretan Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, to encourage locals to avoid pointless gun violence, has had little effect.

In a report in June, the Geneva-based NGO Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime said there could be up to a million illegal weapons in Greece.

It noted that the illegal arms market into the country is largely controlled by Russian, Georgian and Albanian organised crime.