By Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: Authorities are preparing to launch a counterterrorism operation in Kurram district, where sectarian clashes have killed over 130 people since November, and have ordered temporary camps to be set up for potential displaced persons.
The development comes after two aid convoys heading to Parachinar were attacked this month, despite a peace deal signed between warring tribes on January 1. The attacks have exacerbated food and medicine shortages in the region, which has been plagued by decades-old land disputes.
The move comes after militants ambushed a supply convoy on Thursday, killing 10 people and kidnapping five drivers. The bodies of the drivers were later found. The attack targeted a convoy of 33 vehicles carrying essential goods, including rice, flour, and medicine, to local traders to Parachinar.
“It is stated that LEAs (law enforcement agencies) are planning an operation in various areas of Lower Kurram… to counter terrorism,” the Deputy Commissioner office said in a notification on Friday.
The letter proposed four sites in Thall for the temporary camps, including two government colleges, a rescue compound, and a judicial building. The camps aim to ensure the safety and support of the affected population during the expected operation.
According to the plan, 866 families and 9,685 “households” from Baggan; 466 families and 5,245 households from Mandori; and 547 families and 2,494 households from Chapri Paraw and Chapri would be relocated. More than 1,000 families would be relocated under the plan.
The letter also stated that a committee at Lower Kurram under has already been notified for coordination purposes.
Kurram district, which borders Afghanistan, has been plagued by tribal and sectarian clashes since November 21, when armed men attacked a convoy of Shia passengers, killing 52 people. The violence has led to a blockade of the main road connecting Kurram’s main town of Parachinar with the provincial capital of Peshawar, causing shortages of medicine, food, and fuel.
The clashes have resulted in a total of 136 casualties, with the violence showing no signs of abating. Feuding tribes have battled with machine guns and heavy weapons, cutting off the remote and mountainous region from the outside world.
Despite a peace agreement signed between the warring tribes on January 1, the violence has continued. The agreement had stipulated the demolition of bunkers and the handover of heavy weapons to authorities within two weeks.
Thursday’s ambush was the second attack on a supply convoy this month. A similar attack on January 10 injured five people, including a top administration official in the region.
Provincial authorities have been supplying relief goods and transporting ailing and injured people from Kurram to Peshawar via helicopters since late last month.
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