South Waziristan, 7 March (AKI/DAWN) - Fierce clashes erupted between local tribesmen and foreign militants in the Azam Warsak area of Pakistan's South Waziristan Agency on Tuesday, leaving 17 people dead, sources said. Officials in Peshawar told Pakistani daily Dawn that 12 Uzbeks, three tribesmen, including a brother of a tribal elder and two Afghan nationals, were among the dead. The violence broke out after an attack on a pro-government elder. Reports say sporadic firing was continuing in the remote area, about 25 kilometres west of Wana, the administrative headquarters of South Waziristan. Militants in the rugged remote area have killed dozens of people, including government officials and tribal elders they accused of supporting the government of President Musharraf and people accused of spying for US forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The sources quoting local people said that the clashes started when some people opened fire on a pro-government elder Malik Saadullah Darikhel, killing his two cousins and a passerby. Malik Saadullah, who heads a local peace committee, had recently survived two attempts on his life, which he believed had been carried out by foreign militants living in the area adjacent to the Afghan border. He is considered a staunch opponent of foreign elements in the tribal area and he has been organising fellow tribesmen against them.
The attack on the tribal elder infuriated his relatives and a gunbattle ensued. Reports said that rival groups had entrenched themselves and taken positions on hilltops. About 300 armed volunteers had blocked Azam Warsak-Wana Road. On the other hand, local Taliban also announced that they would avenge the killing of their companions and would capture the Darikhel tribesmen.
Local Taliban commander Maulvi Nazir and former MNA Maulvi Noor Muhammad have initiated efforts to stop clashes between the two sides. Officials in the tribal agency could not be contacted for confirmation of the news because telephones in many parts of the agency, including Wana, have not been working for about a month.