Tribal conflict in Sulaimani kills eight, injures nine

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Clashes erupted between two Kurdish tribes in Sulaimani province on Saturday, with 17 people killed and injured, police said.

The fight began after a resident in Hajiyawa town was killed on Saturday in an altercation that broke out in the area. The conflict escalated between two families and tribes in Klawsuran village near the city of Rania.

“So far, eight people have been killed, one of them a child and another victim a woman,” police told Kurdistan 24. Five people have since been arrested in relation to the dispute.

“Nine more people have been injured and were transferred to the Rania and Sulaimani hospitals.”

Authorities brought the fight to a halt in the daytime, but clashes resumed in the night resulting in further casualties, the police said.

The root of the conflict between the two tribes dates back to three years ago after elders in the area resolved the dispute. It re-emerged, however, after a family member was killed on Saturday, a resident in Hajiyawa told Kurdistan 24 on Sunday, stating three security members were among the injured, two of them still in a critical state. 

Shorish Ismael, a police spokesperson in Rania, explained that they had deployed more police and security forces to the area to fully control the situation.

Editing by Nadia Riva