SUKKUR: A fierce gun battle erupted between two rival groups in the riverine area near Madeji town of Shikarpur district late Thursday night after armed men stormed their way into a house and shot dead three women.

Reports reaching here from the troubled area suggested that armed men, allegedly belonging to the Kalhora tribe, barged into the house and opened an indiscriminate fire killing Haseena Junejo, her daughter, Ms Bashiran, and their relative, Amina Junejo. Three other persons present inside also sustained bullet wounds.

The attack triggered an hours-long gun battle as heavily armed men took up positions in their respective localities. The area police could enter the battle field only late Friday evening to collect the women’s bodies. It could not be ascertained immediately if anyone was killed or wounded in the gun battle as intermittent exchange of fire was continuing and the embattled groups were not allowing any outsider into their localities.

The bodies were taken to the taluka hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Old dispute between Kalhoros, Junejos has already claimed 15 lives in Shikarpur’s riverine area

Residents of the nearby areas told the media that the Kalhoros and Junejos had been at loggerheads for long over an old dispute, adding that as many as 15 people from both sides had already lost their lives in the attacks and counter-attacks over the past few years.

They said the district police appeared helpless in establishing their writ and the two sides also never agreed to settle their dispute through mediation. Unconcerned people of the area had been left at the mercy of the rival groups, they said, and appealed to the Sindh police chief and higher authorities to ensure lasting peace in the area by taking stringent security measures.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2022