KUT: Tribal clashes over agricultural land in central Iraq have killed eight people and injured another nine, a security official in Wasit province told AFP on Saturday.
The dispute broke out early in the morning in the village of Kheshan between members of a Bedouin tribe, the official said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
“Eight people were killed and another nine injured,” the official said, adding they were all involved in the fighting.
Security forces have surrounded the area, though skirmishes have not yet ceased.
Tribal feuds are common in Iraq, a war-scarred country awash with weapons where petty rows can turn into deadly clashes.
Tribes wield significant influence and often operate under their own moral and judicial codes, and they possess huge caches of arms.
Iraq has only recently begun to regain a sense of stability after decades of violence that followed the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein.
Iraq tribal clashes kill eight: security official
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Iraq tribal clashes kill eight: security official
- The dispute broke out early in the morning in the village of Kheshan between members of a Bedouin tribe
Lebanon foreign minister declines Tehran visit, proposes talks in neutral country
- Lebanon’s foreign minister Youssef Raji cited ‘current conditions’ for the decision not to go to Iran
Lebanon’s foreign minister Youssef Raji said on Wednesday he had declined an invitation to visit Tehran for now, proposing instead talks with Iran in a mutually agreed neutral third country, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.
Raji cited “current conditions” for the decision not to go to Iran, without elaborating, and stressed that the move did not mean rejection of dialogue with Iran. He did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for additional comment.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had extended the invitation last week, seeking talks on bilateral ties.
Raji said Lebanon stood ready to open a new phase of constructive relations with Iran, on the condition that ties be based strictly on mutual respect, full recognition of each country’s independence and sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs under any pretext.
In an apparent reference to calls to disarm Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed movement allied for decades to Iran, Raji added that no strong state could be built unless the government held the exclusive right to hold weapons.
Hezbollah, once a dominant political force with wide influence over the Lebanese state, was severely weakened by Israeli strikes last year that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire. It has been under mounting domestic and international pressure to surrender its weapons and place all arms under state control.
In August, Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani visited Beirut, warning Lebanon not to “confuse its enemies with its friends.” In June, Foreign Minister Araqchi said Tehran sought a
“new page” in ties.
