Officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan claim the incident occurred as a result of decades-long tribal strife over the mine in the Darra Adam Khel area. 16 people were murdered and another 10 were injured when two tribes fought over control of a coal mine.
Zahid Khan, a police official in the area, has said that 16 people died in the fight between the Sunny Khel and Akhorwal tribes. He told an international news magazine, “At least 11 members of the Sunny Khel tribe were killed, and five members of the Akhorwal tribe were buried last night.” “The tribes involved have agreed on a ceasefire and a jirga [tribal council meeting] was held to resolve the matter,” Khan said.
A Jirga is a council of respected elders from different tribes that meet to settle disputes amongst them. It is widely spoken in the Pashtun-populated northwest regions of Pakistan.
The dispute has claimed may lives in Pakistan
This is not the first time these two have fought violently; the problem has been the subject of many previous jirgas, yet it keeps coming back. Khan claimed that as a result of the fighting, many individuals had lost their lives.
The tribes people of Sunny Khel, according to the police officer, demonstrated on a nearby roadway, asking that the perpetrators be apprehended. He said, “We hope a resolution will be reached soon, and local administration and law enforcement officials are mediating between the tribes.”
The Darra Adam Khel coal mine is located in the Kohat area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This region used to be a part of the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), but in 2018 it was integrated with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan.
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