59 killed in renewed violence in north-west Pakistan (2nd Roundup)

Nov 17, 2007, 16:46 GMT

Islamabad - Fifty-nine people were killed Saturday in renewed violence in restive north-west Pakistan that borders Afghanistan, officials said.

At least 39 people were killed and more than 100 injured in clashes between rival Sunni and Shia muslim groups in the tribal region of Parachinar.

The running battles between the factions broke out after Friday prayers, when gunmen opened fire on a Sunni mosque injuring two people, the local administrator Dr Fakhar Alim told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa in a telephone interview.

The heavily armed groups were using rocket launchers and mortar fire in the ongoing firefight on Saturday, prompting the authorities to impose an indefinite curfew in the town.

Military troops are also being deployed to the region, Alim said.

At least 39 bodies had been brought to the hospital so far, local hospital officials said while unconfirmed reports put the death toll at over 45.

'We have given treatment to more than 100 people since yesterday. Two dozen of them are still in critical condition,' said a medical officer, Habibur Rehaman.

Tensions between rival sectarian groups have been running high for several months in Parachinar. In April, more than 60 people were killed in armed clashes between the sides.

The riots led to a curfew lasting several weeks which was only lifted after the rival factions had agreed to a peace deal.

In another incident, the Pakistan army claimed to have killed 20 armed followers of a pro-Taliban radical cleric in Swat, a valley in the north-west.

'The miscreants were seen running away from Shangla district's Alpurai town, of which they had gained control of last week, after successful operation by security forces,' army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told dpa.

The latest casualties bring the death toll in four days' of resumed fighting to 120.

On Friday, 40 insurgents were killed when gunship helicopters and artillery guns engaged their three positions, while 20 died on Thursday and 40 on Wednesday.

The fresh fighting started after a week's lull in clashes that had started when Islamabad sent additional troops to the region in late October to quell the rebellion instigated by radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah for the enforcement of Taliban rule.

Scores of people, including dozens of soldiers, have died in more than two weeks of violence.