ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Five people were killed and one was injured in a tribal dispute in Iraq’s southern province of Diwaniyah, local authorities reported on Tuesday. The incident follows a similar conflict a day earlier in the southernmost Basra province, where one person was killed and eight others were injured.
The mayor of Diwaniyah district, Kadhim Abdullah al-Jubouri, told Rudaw on Tuesday that “a personal dispute erupted between several relatives while they were at a guesthouse in the al-Hard region on the outskirts of al-Shinafiya [west of Diwaniya].”
The disagreement “escalated into a verbal altercation, after which one of the attendees killed two people using a firearm,” Jubouri said, adding that the relatives of the slain victims “responded with arms [as well], resulting in the deaths of three more individuals and the injury of another.”
Security forces were quick to arrive at the scene, cordon off the area, and refer the offenders to the relevant authorities, while seizing several weapons used in the incident, Jubouri elaborated.
The incident in Diwaniyah followed a similar tribal conflict in Iraq’s southernmost Basra province on Monday, which left one person dead and eight others injured, local sources told Rudaw.
The dispute broke out between two families from the al-Bazzoun tribe in the al-Zubair district, west of Basra, on Monday, leading to an armed clash. Local Iraqi media reported that the families had a long standing dispute and that one of those injured was a bystander.
Tribal conflicts in southern Iraq continue to be a major security concern for the Iraqi government.
Armed clashes remain a frequent occurrence especially in Basra, Dhi Qar and Maysan provinces, with some requiring intervention from the Iraqi military to contain them. These disputes typically involve the use of light and medium weapons, and in some cases, mortar shells.
The violence is chiefly driven by control over agricultural land, water resources, and border crossings. These conflicts are also compounded by the widespread availability of arms, with tribes in the region possessing millions of weapons, many obtained from military caches of the regime of toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and paramilitary groups.
The dynamics of tribal violence have evolved in recent years, with political parties sometimes shielding their tribal affiliates, further exacerbating the issue. The complex web of tribal, political, and paramilitary networks make it difficult for the government to enforce rule of law.
Between 2019 and 2021, Basra alone witnessed 280 armed disputes, resulting in 35 deaths and 74 injuries.
