No let-up in Kurram unrest

Jirgas fail to stop armed clashes between two groups

KURRAM:

The situation in Kurram on Saturday remained critical as intermittent clashes between two religious groups failed to subside.

According to reports emanating from the district’s Parachinar town, life came to a standstill as the rival groups continued to target each other for the fifth day of the conflict – triggered by a controversial video that went viral on the social media -- launching around 100 mortars at each other.

The authorities concerned tried to broker a ceasefire through holding of jirgas but their efforts did not bear any fruit and they failed to stop the clashes between the two sides.

The death toll is mounting with each passing day during the five straight days of violence.

The authorities, in an effort to contain the violence, suspended all cellular and internet services in the district. Educational institutions stayed closed in Kurram as well and vehicular traffic to the district has been suspended too.

Read More: Eight teachers gunned down in Kurram

The two religious groups – one based in Parachinar's Khar Kalay village and the other in Baleech Khel -- continued to exchange fire.

The police said the firing had been continuing since Friday night using heavy weapons.

They added that the members of the religious groups residing in Parachinar's Boshehra and Dandar villages had reached a ceasefire.

The police claimed that three people had been killed and four others injured in these incidents of firing. However, the reports from the area dispute these figures. According to them, the unrest in Kurram since five days has claimed at least 12 lives and injured several others.

A day earlier, at least seven people were killed in the conflict -- five of them in Parachinar’s Boshehra village and two others in Khar Kalay and Baleech Khel.

On Thursday, four people were killed and six others injured when gunshots were fired on two passenger buses heading from Peshawar to the tribal district’s Parachinar town.

The buses were attacked at Charkhel area of Lower Kurram. The victims included two brothers, who went to Peshawar for medical treatment.

Read More: Five tribesmen killed in Kurram clash

The passenger vehicles were being brought from Thal town in Hangu district to Parachinar under government security when they were targeted.

On Tuesday, four people, including their relative, who had just landed in Peshawar from Qatar, were travelling to their homes in Parachinar when unidentified men, riding a motorcycle, fired at them near Bara Pull in Badaber. Police confirmed that one of them had died.

(With input from APP)