Death toll rises to 43 in tribal clashes in northwest Pakistan
At least 43 people have been killed in tribal clashes erupted over a land dispute in northwest Pakistan over one week, authorities and locals said on Monday.
Despite a ceasefire brokered by tribal elders on Sunday, intermittent clashes continue in several parts of the volatile Kurram district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.
Mir Hassan Jan, the medical superintendent of the Kurram District Headquarters Hospital, informed reporters that nearly 180 people have been injured in the past week of violence.
Confirming the death toll, Turi, a member of the 'jirga' or tribal assembly working to maintain the fragile ceasefire, stated that eight more people were killed in overnight artillery exchanges between rival tribes.
The clashes initially erupted over a land dispute between the Boshehra and Maleekhel tribes but later escalated into sectarian skirmishes in different parts of the district, according to Turi.
'Ceasefire has been implemented in several areas, but some parts are still under fire,' Turi said. 'We are trying our best to fully quell the violence,' he added.
Local journalist Ali Afzal reported that rival tribes are using rockets and mortars against each other.
Pakistan a Sunni-majority country, frequently experiences discrimination and violence against Shia communities. The Kurram district, located approximately 218 kilometers (135 miles) from the provincial capital Peshawar, has seen frequent tribal and sectarian clashes in recent years.
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