37 dead in sectarian fighting in Pakistan
The death toll from ongoing sectarian clashes in northwest Pakistan has risen to at least 37, with more than 150 wounded in a sixth consecutive day of intensifying fighting, a local official told AFP on Friday.
- Fighting between Sunni and Shia tribes, initially over land, escalated into a deadly conflict
- Efforts for a ceasefire have failed despite involvement of security forces and tribal leaders
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The once semi-autonomous Kurram district has a long history of bloody clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslim tribes that have claimed hundreds of lives.
Clashes over land involving the same tribe in July left 35 people dead but only ended after a jirga (tribal council) called for a ceasefire and officials tried to negotiate a new one.
Fighting with heavy weapons continues in 10 districts of the district, despite efforts by security forces and local residents to reach an agreement, a Kurram-based official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“What started as a land dispute has turned into a full-scale sectarian clash with the use of automatic and semi-automatic weapons and mortar shells,” he said. He added that 37 people were killed and 153 were injured. “28 houses were damaged,” added another security official in the provincial capital, Peshawar.
Tribal and family feuds are rife in Pakistan.
But they can be especially elicited and violent in the mountainous northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where communities follow traditional tribal codes of honor.
In Pakistan, which is majority Sunni Muslim, the Shiite community has long faced discrimination and violence.
