Islamabad, July 29 (EFE).- At least 43 people have been killed and 151 injured in clashes between two tribes in Pakistan\u2019s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province over the last six days, police said on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The clashes in the Kurram district between two rival tribes erupted last week over a land dispute, with both sides using heavy weapons to target each other\u2019s positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rivalry escalated into communal violence in the area region where several people have been killed in the past, particularly affecting the Muslim Shia minority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Initially, it was a land dispute but now the matter has turned into communal violence in which 43 people have lost their lives and 151 others are injured,” police officer Hashim Khan told EFE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the clashes spread to other areas with some tribesmen using machine guns, mortars, and rockets to target the rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome rocket launchers have even been fired on Parachinar city, the district headquarters,\u201d the officer said. The warring tribesmen had dug bunkers and trenches to hide and target opposing fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday, a local jirga, or council of elders, held negotiations and agreed to a ceasefire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“More than 70 percent of the bunkers in the conflict areas have been evacuated and the police, FC (Frontier Constabulary) and army have taken control,\u201d Khan said. However, intermittent exchanges of fire continued on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most villages in the region are facing shortages of food and life-saving medicines due to road closures by authorities to contain the unrest. Internet connectivity was also shut down across the district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The district is located on the border with Afghanistan, where a major conflict began in 2007 and ended in 2011 after a truce with the help of a jirga of tribal elders. Last year, fierce clashes in the same areas resulted in at least 10 deaths before a ceasefire was agreed upon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the provincial home department, land disputes at eight places in the district date back to the partition of Pakistan and India in 1947. EFE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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