Kurram district: death toll in tribal clashes now over 130, official says

PESHAWAR: Deadly tribal clashes have continued in Pakistan’s north-western Kurram district in spite of a tentative ceasefire struck late last week, local officials said, with the death toll now over 130 as authorities try to broker a solution.

District administration official Wajid Hussain said 133 people had been killed in the attacks in the last week and a half.

“The district administration and other relevant authorities have initiated efforts to stop fighting between the two communities but there is no breakthrough yet,” he said.

A Pakistani government team mediated a seven-day ceasefire deal between the rival groups last Sunday.

Provincial authorities put the death toll at 97, with 43 people killed in the initial attack when gunmen opened fire on passenger vans and the rest killed in retaliatory clashes.

Chief Minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Ali Amin Khan Gandapur visited the area on Saturday for a large gathering of tribal elders and leaders.

“Anyone who takes up arms will be treated as a terrorist, and their fate will be that of a terrorist,” said Gandapur according to a statement from his office late on Saturday, adding that security forces would remain in the area.

Tribal clashes in Kurram district leave 89 dead in a week: local official

Residents and officials said the main highway connecting Kurram’s main city of Parachinar to the provincial capital Peshawar was blocked, which had created challenges transferring wounded people to hospitals.

“Our medical team is working around the clock to perform surgeries due to the challenges in referring patients to larger hospitals in Peshawar and elsewhere,” said Dr Syed Mir Hassan, from Parachinar’s district hospital.

He added that they were currently treating around 100 wounded patients and had received 50 bodies during the violence.