Gunmen ambush Pakistan aid convoy despite sectarian truce

Gunmen ambushed a Pakistan convoy travelling to bring aid to a region besieged by sectarian fighting on Saturday, local government said, wounding several officials despite a ceasefire announced three days ago.

The Kurram region of northwest Pakistan has been wracked by Sunni-Shiite violence for decades, but around 140 people have been killed since a fresh bout of fighting broke out in November.

As feuding tribes have battled with machine guns and heavy weapons, the remote and mountainous region bordering Afghanistan has been largely cut off from the outside world.

After a truce was called on January 1, the convoy was attacked as it travelled to collect the first aid delivery of food and medicine sent by road since November, officials said.

Kurram's deputy commissioner was wounded "along with two other administration officials, two policemen and two Frontier Corps soldiers", local government official Motasim Billah told the media.

He said the attack took place around 11:00am (0600 GMT).

The deputy commissioner "came under an attack by unidentified miscreants" but his "condition is out of danger" according to Muhammad Ali Saif, the spokesman of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

"The convoy has been temporarily halted due to security concerns," he added in a statement.

Numerous ceasefires have been touted by the provincial government since the latest fighting broke out, only to be broken with renewed clashes hours later.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement the attack was "a conspiracy" intended to undo the ceasefire agreed on New Year's Day following a council of tribal leaders from both sides.

"Mischievous elements carried out the firing to harm the peace agreement," he said in a statement.

Pakistan is a Sunni-majority country but Shiites make up between 10 and 15 percent of the population.

The communities live side-by-side in Kurram, but feuding is regularly resparked over land disputes before igniting along sectarian divides.

This current round of violence started in November when two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims travelling under police escort were ambushed, with 40 people killed.

Agence France-Presse