Dozens killed as sectarian violence flares up in Pakistan’s Kurram

At least 32 people have been killed and dozens wounded in renewed fighting between Sunni and Shia Muslim groups in northwestern Pakistan, officials say.

The violence overnight on Saturday was the latest to rock Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, just days after a deadly attack on a convoy in the same area killed dozens of people.

Speaking to AFP news agency on condition of anonymity, a senior administrative official said the death toll in the latest incident included 14 Sunni and 18 Shia Muslims. Another 47 were wounded, the official added.

A senior Pakistani police officer also confirmed Saturday’s fighting to The Associated Press news agency, putting the death toll at 33 and the injuries at 25.

The officer, who also spoke anonymously because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said armed men in Bagan and Bacha Kot torched shops, houses and government property.

Intense gunfire was continuing between the Alizai and Bagan tribes in the Lower Kurram area.

“Educational institutions in Kurram are closed due to the severe tension. Both sides are targeting each other with heavy and automatic weapons,” the officer said.

Videos as well as images posted on social media showed a market engulfed by fire and orange flames piercing the night sky. Gunfire can also be heard.

media’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said a curfew has been imposed in the area and mobile services have been suspended.