Four killed as two tribes clash over ownership of forest

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: At least four persons were killed and three others sustained injuries when a bloody clash erupted between the Dotani and Sherani tribes over the ownership of forest in Hasankhel area, police and hospital sources said on Friday.

As tension escalated between two tribes on the boundary of the districts of South Waziristan and Dera Ismail Khan, they resorted to exchange of fire. The clash left four persons dead and three others injured, said an official.

However, the cops led by District Police Officer Dilawar Bangash managed to effect ceasefire between the rival tribes. The sources said the Dotani tribe of South Waziristan and Sherani tribe of Darazinda tehsil of the erstwhile Frontier Region Dera Ismail Khan had been running a dispute over the ownership of a forest in Hasankhel area. In view of the escalating tension, the district administrations of South Waziristan and Dera Ismail Khan have started efforts to normalise the situation. “The deputy commissioners of Dera Ismail Khan and South Waziristan are all set to convene a jirga of local elders to solve the issue,” said an official.