Sectarian violence causes more people to flee

As he trudges home with a bag of wheat flour for the family's evening meal, Zain-ul-Abideen Ali, 14, looks out of place. "Everyone here knows I am an outsider. I miss my village. But my father says we can never return to Kurram. It is too dangerous," Ali told IRIN.

Kurram, one of seven tribal agencies on the western border with Afghanistan, has been hit by fierce sectarian clashes in the past 10 months, pitching Sunni Muslims against the minority Shia. Of a total population of 450,000, Kurram is 42 percent Shia, unlike the tribal areas surrounding it, according to official data. Intensified conflict over the past three weeks has led to at least 400 deaths and even more injuries.

The latest clashes, which killed at least 95 people and wounded more than 200, broke out on 30 August, violating a ceasefire reached between the warring groups on the eve of Ramadan. About 1,500 people are reported to have died over the past 18 months in Kurram Agency.

"We will now enforce the ceasefire that the 'jirga' [tribal gathering] agreed on in letter and spirit," Ayaz Mandokhel, the government representative in the area, said.

Photo: ReliefWeb

Map of Pakistan showing Kurram and Bajaur in the troubled northwestern FATA areas bordering Afghanistan *The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties.

However, residents say tensions remain. "There is a lot of unease. Violence could resume any time," Jamal Ahmed, a resident of Parachinar, Kurram’s main town, told IRIN. He said that in the latest fighting, "rival tribes suddenly fell on each other. The houses of ordinary people were set ablaze."

It is this situation that has brought Ali’s family to Ayubia, 75km north of Islamabad. His father, Haider Ali, 40, feels quite lost.

"It is difficult moving here. My wife and three children all feel like outsiders. We do not speak the same language as the locals, but at least we are safe from fighting and the possibility that someone will burn our home simply because we are Shia," he said.

Haider Ali's brother and his family of six have also moved. They are living with distant relatives in the town, but are not certain if they will stay.

"We came because our cousins were kind and offered shelter. But we may move to a larger town. I am a stone-mason and must find work to survive." However, he said: "We will not return home. It is too dangerous, but we are sad the younger children may grow up not even knowing what home was like. Maybe one day we can go and visit."

Photo: Kamila Hyat/IRIN

Children fleeing conflict would like to return home

Kurram has seen sporadic sectarian unrest over many decades. However, the violence this time has been particularly grim. "The government must assist people in conflict-hit areas," Asma Jahangir, chairperson of the Lahore-based Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said.

Bajaur Agency has also been hit by violence, with more than 400,000 people displaced.

"Some people have headed for Peshawar, others for larger cities further south, including Karachi and Lahore, or wherever they can find work. Many are unlikely to return," said Ayaz Jaffar, who know lives in Peshawar but has family in Bajaur. "More and more of my relatives are going away for ever," he said.

The scale of such long-term displacements is unknown since no statistics exist. Many fear that once Ramadan ends the fighting may resume. As a result, more and more people are leaving their homes and in some cases all they have ever known to build new lives thousands of miles away.

kh/ar/mw