Islamabad: Sectarian clashes between Shia and Sunni tribesmen in Hangu district of northwestern Pakistan today claimed 13 more lives, taking the death toll in the fighting that erupted on Friday to 40.

Fresh clashes erupted yesterday and continued till this afternoon, when a ceasefire was brokered by a peace committee comprising tribal elders and civil, police and army officials. Over 60 people have been injured in three days of fighting.

The two sides traded heavy fire throughout last night and the early hours today, using heavy weapons like mortars and rockets. Shops and houses were torched at several places in the district in the fresh skirmishes.

Clashes erupted between the two groups in villages in Hangu district, which is located near the Afghan border, after authorities banned the holding of processions by Shias on the occasion of Muharram on Thursday.

Reports from the area said the situation got worse because the Shias are being backed by armed groups from the adjoining Shia-majority Kurram tribal area while the Sunnis are being supported by Taliban fighters from Aurakzai Agency.

Both groups have set up "control rooms" to monitor and gather reports from the battleground. They also raised lashkars or tribal militias to attack each others positions. The fighting continued despite curfew being imposed in the area.

The Taliban and their rivals surrounded dozens of people and killed them. Bodies were lying in the open in several places as security forces and elders could not remove them due to the heavy fighting, the reports said.

Over the past two years, Hangu has witnessed sectarian violence that claimed dozens of lives. Shias account for about 20 per cent of Pakistan s population of 160 million.
Source : PTI