Tribal clashes over land leave 11 dead in NW Pakistan
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA): Fierce fighting between two rival tribes in northwestern Pakistan over a piece of land claimed another two lives on Tuesday, raising the casualties to 11 over the past five days, officials and local media reported.
The clashes involving heavy weapons, including rockets from both sides, have brought life to a standstill in several parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram tribal district, which sits on the Afghanistan border.
Confirming the fresh casualties, Kurram’s Deputy Commissioner Syed Saif-ul-Islam told reporters that tribal elders are negotiating with the rival groups in an attempt to halt the clashes.
Some 67 people from both tribes, including unarmed tribesmen, have been injured in the clashes, health officials said.
Seven people, including five teachers, were killed in May this year when gunmen opened fire in a high school in the Shia-dominated Parachinar town, the administrative headquarters of Kurram district.
Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Sajid Hussain Turi, who hails from Kurram, told reporters that he himself is involved in negotiations aimed to broker a cease-fire between the rival tribes.
He hinted that army troops could be posted in the region to contain clashes.
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