People mourn at the graves of their family members who were killed after gunmen opened fire on passenger vehicles in the Kurram tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Shalozan, Pakistan, on November 22, 2024. STRINGER / REUTERS The government of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the northwest of Pakistan, announced, Sunday evening, November 24, a week-long truce after three days of clashes between Sunnis and Shiites which left 82 dead, said its spokesperson, Muhammad Ali Saif. “The two parties have accepted a seven-day ceasefire during which they will also exchange prisoners and return the bodies,” it is specified. A local official, for his part, reported to Agence France-Presse “information according to which 15 to 20 people from both camps are missing.” “Among the dead, 66 are Shiites and 16 Sunnis,” said this official of the Kurram district, the scene of sectarian violence in the province for months, on condition of anonymity. Local officials reported to AFP “shooting with light and heavy weapons in different areas”. However, they specify that no deaths or injuries have been reported since Saturday evening. Read also | In Pakistan, at least thirty-two dead in violence between Sunnis and Shiites Read later Hundreds of stores and houses burned Thursday, around ten attackers fired on sight at two convoys carrying Shiite families under police escort. In retaliation, on Friday and Saturday, Shiites carried out raids against Sunni neighborhoods, notably burning hundreds of stores and houses, residents and authorities reported to AFP. Since then, the mobile phone network has been cut off in Kurram, as has traffic on the district’s main expressway. Since July, the conflict between Sunnis and Shiites in the mountains bordering Afghanistan has left more than 160 dead, according to consistent sources. Invariably, after a few weeks of calm, conflicts between tribes of different persuasions, which relate in particular to the question of land, have resumed despite truces decreed by tribal councils, the jirgas. In this district, a former tribal area where codes of honor are strong, the security forces have difficulty enforcing the law, while the federal government and even the provincial government, which sits in Peshawar, struggle to gain a foothold there. . Read the decryption (2014): What are the differences between Sunnis and Shiites? Read later Again, on Saturday, senior officials were dispatched from the provincial capital, further east. As their helicopter descended on Parachinar, the district’s main town and Shiite stronghold, shots came from the ground, a police source reported to AFP, affirming that they had caused no casualties or damage. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover “This delegation had detailed discussions with the Shiite community on Saturday and will meet the Sunnis”, the largely majority in Pakistan, Sunday, the local administration communicated. “Our priority is to obtain a ceasefire from both parties,” said the provincial justice ministry. “When we have it, then we can talk about other problems,” he added, while Shiites have long claimed to be discriminated against in Pakistan and, throughout the country, Pakistanis accuse the forces of order to fail to protect them. Read the analysis (2013): Article reserved for our subscribers Pakistan once again threatened by the Sunni-Shiite divide Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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