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At least 11 people have been killed and eight more have sustained injuries in a clash between two tribes in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.
Tensions rose in the Kurram district of the province after two people were critically injured in a shooting incident between rival tribes in the northwestern part of the country. However, the reason for the clashes is not known. As the violence spread, vehicles were targeted in different areas of the district which led to many more casualties, as noted by senior official Javedullah Khan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is known to be home to over 40 million people who come from various tribal groups and identities. Khan said the injured were taken to a hospital, and efforts were being made to secure travel routes and restore normalcy. The injured were taken to a hospital. Pir Haider Ali Shah, a former parliamentarian and member of a tribal council, said elders had arrived in Kurram to mediate a peace agreement between the tribes. "The recent firing incidents are regrettable and have hampered efforts for lasting peace," he said. Notably, tribal group meetings also known as 'Jirgas' are routinely held to ensure peace and stability in the region, as reported by Al Jazeera. In another incident last month, at least 25 people were killed in days of clashes between armed Shia and Sunni Muslims over a land dispute. Although both communities live together largely peacefully in the country, tensions have existed for decades between them in some areas, especially in Kurram, where Shia Muslims dominate in parts of the district, according to Al Jazeera. Clashes in the area have seen an uptick as last month alone over 20 people were killed between armed Shia and Sunni Muslims over a land dispute. Although both live together largely peacefully in the country, tensions have existed for decades between them in some areas, especially in Kurram, where Shia Muslims dominate in parts of the district, Al Jazeera noted. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for attacks at a coal mine in Balochistan which saw the death of over 20 individuals including Pakistani as well as Afghan nationals. The attack had involved the use of heavy weapons, rocket launchers and grenades. Such attacks have become common in Balochistan, the southern part of the country known to be home to key natural resources but whose benefits do not translate to uplifting the citizens' quality of life there. The outfits operating from Balochistan accuse the central government in Islamabad of exploiting the province's rich oil and mineral resources to the detriment of the local population in the country's largest and least-populated province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan. These groups have also expressed their anger against foreign nationals coming in for resource extraction but deriving profits without benefiting the locals. Attacks on international convoys have thus become a key way for citizens to register protests. BLA gave a higher casualty figure of 30 dead and 18 injured in the incident. It also said that Pakistani security personnel were disguised as workers, without giving evidence.It threatened more assaults unless the military withdrew from the province. Balochistan has been a hotbed of armed movements, with the BLA most prominent among them. Last week, the BLA - designated a "terrorist group" by Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States - claimed responsibility for an attack targeting Chinese nationals near Pakistan's largest airport, Al Jazeera reported. The Chinese embassy in Pakistan said at least two of its citizens were killed and a third injured after their convoy was targeted with an improvised explosive device believed to have been detonated by a suicide bomber. At least 10 people were injured in total, with four cars destroyed in the explosion and 10 more vehicles damaged in the resulting fire, local media reported. (ANI)
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