Pakistan sectarian fighting restarts, breaking truce: Officials

A total of 82 people were killed and 156 more wounded before the regional government brokered the short-lived ceasefire

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Relatives transport a dead body of a victim who was killed in sectarian attacks in Kurram district. Photo: AFP

By AFP

Published: Mon 25 Nov 2024, 9:31 PM

Bitter sectarian fighting in northwestern Pakistan which killed more than 80 people last week restarted on Monday, officials said, breaching a painstakingly brokered ceasefire.

A seven-day truce between Sunnis and Shiites in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was agreed on Sunday but "reports of tribal clashes and gunfire continue to emerge from several areas", Kurram deputy commissioner Javedullah Mehsud told AFP.

A security official stationed in Kurram who asked not to be named confirmed "clashes are ongoing" in at least three areas but said that no fresh casualties had yet been reported.

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Pakistan is a Sunni-majority country, but Kurram -- near the border with Afghanistan -- has a large Shiite population and the communities have clashed for decades.

The latest violence began last Thursday when two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims travelling under police escort were ambushed, sparking two days of gun battles.

A total of 82 people were killed and 156 more wounded before the regional government brokered the short-lived ceasefire on Sunday night.

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AFP

Published: Mon 25 Nov 2024, 9:31 PM

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