SHIKARPUR, June 3: Four persons were killed and five others wounded in an armed clash between members of two rival tribes near Wakro village of Shikarpur district on Monday.

Sources in the area said that a group of armed men, allegedly belonging to the Marfani tribe, entered Wakro village, inhabited by Khoso tribesmen, and took away a herd of cattle. The matter was reported to the Mauladad police station of Jacobabad district and a search was started by the Khoso tribesmen with the help of footprint trackers.

The aggrieved cattle owners were told on the basis of the search results that the armed raiders along with the herd returned to a village inhabited by Marfani tribesmen within the remit of Jahan Wah police station.

They along with some armed Khoso tribesmen went to the Marfanis and asked them to restore the cattle herd to its owners. Both the sides engaged in heated arguments over the issue and finally started firing on each other.

The armed conflict left four persons — Saran Marfani, Ali Mohammad Khoso, Gul Bahar Khoso and Khursheed Khoso — dead and five others seriously wounded. Three of the wounded victims were identified as Afzal Khoso, Jhongal Khoso and Qurban Khoso.

Police said that Marfani tribesmen also captured three Khoso tribesmen after the clash.

Jacobabad SSP Zafar Iqbal, along with a police contingent, rushed to the scene of the clash and held negotiations with the embattled tribes. Later, the Marfanis released the captives, Nawab Ali Khoso, Mashooq Ali Khoso and another man whose identity could not be ascertained till Monday evening.

Staff at the Jacobabad Civil Hospital said that three bodies of Khoso tribesmen were brought to the hospital and that of Sarang Marfani was sent to Sultankot Hospital for a post-mortem examination. His heirs collected the body for burial. The wounded victims were taken to the Shikarpur Civil Hospital for treatment.

Tension gripped the whole area till last reports came in at around midnight.

Law-enforcement personnel were patrolling the area but no arrests were made and no case was registered at any of the police stations concerned.