ABBOTTABAD, May 20: At least eight people were killed and dozens injured on Friday night when a gun-battle involving two rival tribes of Mansehra district erupted in an unsettled area of Kala Dhaka, a locality in Hazara.

However, Online news agency quoting unconfirmed reports said the gun-battle and an arson attack that followed it had left as many as 24 people dead and dozens hurt.

Speaking to Dawn by telephone from Mansehra, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Shakeel Qadir confirmed that the clash had claimed the lives of eight persons, including six Mada Khail and two Tanoli tribemen.

An eyewitness said the death toll from Friday’s clash could be much higher as rival groups had set fire to the disputed village of Chamgah and flames could be seen from a distance.

For the last two years, members of the Madah Khail and Tanoli tribes have been engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation over possession of the village.

Mr Qadir said that three FC platoons had been dispatched to the affected area in an effort to defuse the tension and three other platoons were awaited from Peshawar. The firefight has stopped and talks are currently under way between elders of the two tribes.

The DCO said that initial reports indicated that 10 to 12 had been injured in the gun-battle. “The exact position could not be ascertained due to the remoteness of the site of the clash and closure of road links following the gun-battle,” he said.

Mr Qadir said that a large number of houses had been set on fire by rival groups.

“Tents, food and other items will be dispatched and given to those displaced on Sunday morning as no relief workers are going to the area after sunset,” he said.

After Friday’s tribal clash the situation in the nearby Darband area has become tense. A heavy contingent of law-enforcement personnel has been deployed in the Darband area as a precautionary measure.