After battling for six straight days, a local official told AFP on Friday that the number of people killed in the ongoing sectarian hostilities in northwest Pakistan has increased to at least 37, with over 150 injured.
Many Sunni and Shiite tribes have engaged in violent conflicts in the Kurram district, which was once a semi-autonomous region. Over the years, these conflicts have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.
Fighting over territory between the same tribes claimed 35 lives in July; the fighting only stopped after a jirga, or tribal council, declared a ceasefire and officials started attempting to negotiate a new ceasefire.
A Kurram-based official, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP that fighting with heavy weaponry has persisted in ten districts despite efforts by security forces and residents to come to a consensus.
“What began as a land dispute has escalated into a full-fledged sectarian clash involving the use of automatic and semi-automatic weapons, as well as mortar shells,” added the official.
There have been 37 fatalities and 153 injuries, he continued. A second security source in Peshawar, the provincial capital, reported damage to 28 houses.
Pakistan has a high rate of family and tribal feuds.
In the hilly northwest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where people follow customary tribal honour laws, they can, however, be very violent and protracted.
Shiite Muslims have long faced prejudice and bloodshed in Pakistan, a nation mostly made up of Sunni Muslims.
