Sporadic clashes between Sunni and Shia tribes in Pakistan's troubled northwest have left at least 10 people dead and 21 others injured, despite a cease-fire being negotiated between the two warring communities, according to police reports on Wednesday.

The most recent violence occurred Tuesday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Kurram area, which borders Afghanistan. According to officials, the sporadic tribal sectarian violence claimed at least 10 lives and injured 21 others. "An agreement has been reached for an extension of the cease-fire for another 10 days," Deputy Commissioner of Kurram Javedullah Mehsud said. 

The deputy minister stated the violence over the previous week have claimed 100 lives and injured 180 more. He added that army and police forces would continue to be stationed in Kurram, and that all parties will leave their posts beginning tomorrow. The clashes between the Alizai and Bagan tribes in Kurram district began last Friday after an attack on a passenger van convoy near Parachinar on Thursday, which killed 47 people. Over Friday and Saturday, at least 37 more people were killed, and several others were injured in the ongoing tribal violence, according to police. No group has taken responsibility for the attack on the convoy.

On Sunday, a seven-day ceasefire was agreed upon after talks between a provincial government team and leaders from both the Shia and Sunni communities. However, authorities reported that intermittent fights are still occurring in spite of the cease-fire. On Tuesday, fighting broke out intermittently in the neighbourhoods of Ghozaghari, Matasanagar, and Kunj Alizai. The Deputy Commissioner of Kurram, Mehsud, announced that a large tribal council made up of elders from the Hangu, Orakzai, and Kohat districts, will visit Kurram to mediate and help stop the ongoing conflicts. The Commissioner of the Kohat division will lead the peace team.

In the meantime, Dr Mir Hassan Khan, the Superintendent of the Kurram district hospital, stated that the roadblock to Parachinar, which was caused by Thursday’s attack, has led to a shortage of medicines. He said that doctors are finding it hard to treat patients due to a lack of medicines, and as a result, people are losing their lives. About 15% of the 240 million people who live in Sunni-majority Pakistan are Shiite Muslims. Tensions nevertheless exist despite the two communities' largely harmonious coexistence, particularly in Kurram. The area has a history of sectarian conflict, with militant groups targeting the Shiite minority in the past. However, the current violence is related to a land dispute.