Sectarian clashes killed 32 people and injured 47 in the ongoing Sunni-Shiite conflict in Pakistan

At least 32 people were killed and 47 injured in sectarian clashes in Pakistan’s northwest, an official said on Saturday, two days after 43 people were killed in attacks on Shiite passenger convoys.

About 150 people have died in recent months in sporadic clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the border with Afghanistan.

“Conflicts between Shiite and Sunni communities continue at many points. “According to the latest reports, 32 people were killed, 14 of whom were Sunnis and 18 Shiites,” he said.

Gunmen opened fire on two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims traveling under police escort in Kurram on Thursday, killing 43 people and leaving 11 in “critical condition”, authorities said.

In retaliation, Shiite Muslims on Friday evening attacked several Sunni businesses in the Kurram district, a once semi-autonomous region where sectarian violence has resulted in hundreds of deaths over the years.

“Around 7 pm, a group of angry Shiites attacked the Sunni-dominated Bagan Bazaar,” said a senior police officer working in Kurram.