An “old conflict over land” leaves 8 dead and wounded in Iraq

Eight people were killed, in an initial toll, and 10 were wounded, in armed confrontations between members of one tribe in southern Iraq, against the background of an old dispute over agricultural land, security and medical sources told AFP.

A security source said that "eight people were killed in the tribal conflict that erupted south of the city of Al-Amarah," in an area 70 km away, adding that the clash "is still ongoing."

A medical source confirmed the death toll and the injury of more than ten people, including women and children.

Another security source stated that the cause of the conflict was “an old revenge for the seizure of agricultural land belonging to the state by a member of the Al-Bakhit clan, and others from the same clan demanding that the land be divided equally among them.”

On Monday, the Maysan Governorate Police Directorate, where Al-Amarah is located, announced the launch of a security operation following the killing of a tribal sheikh due to a separate clan conflict.

Sheikh Muhammad Al-Faisali, from the Al-Bu Muhammad tribe, was killed in front of his house in Qal'at Salih, located about 50 km south of Al-Amarah, by gunmen.

A statement, quoted by the Iraqi News Agency, quoted the Police Directorate in Maysan, as saying that it had "launched a security operation with the participation of" the Iraqi army in the Qala'at Saleh district "following the killing of Sheikh Muhammad Raysan Al-Faisali."

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