PARACHINAR, Dec 23: Nine people were killed and several others wounded in fresh clashes between security forces and tribesmen in the Kurram Agency on Sunday after a group of armed men set on fire houses and shops in Parachinar city on Saturday night.

Officials said that clashes broke out between residents of Balishkhel and Sadda in Lower Kurram Agency after armed men attacked the Frontier Corps’ fort. Security forces fired back, killing five assailants and injuring several others, an official said.

Governor NWFP Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai held talks with tribal elders in Parachinar on Sunday to restore the state’s writ in the agency, says a handout issued in Peshawar.

It said that jirga members and the political administration had urged the governor to send more troops to the area in view of the deteriorating law and order situation.

Local people said that riots broke out in Parachinar, the administrative headquarters of the agency, after armed men entered the city on Saturday and ransacked shops and abandoned houses belonging to people of the rival sect.

Despite curfew, troublemakers took away household items from the houses.

They said that a sudden withdrawal of security forces from the city provided an opportunity to the armed men to ransack and rob private businesses and homes.

The area has remained cut of from the rest of the country since rival factions blocked the main road about a month ago.

The tribal administration later recalled the army and paramilitary forces to flush out the assailants.

Sources said that troops opened fire on Saturday night, killing four rioters and wounding eight others.

On Sunday morning, helicopters attacked positions of the assailants in and around the city. Local people blamed the security forces and political administration for the lawlessness in the agency.

“There is a likelihood of a civil war in Kurram Agency, but the government is not taking action to quell the unrest,” said a tribal elder, adding that there was no coordination between the law-enforcement personnel and the political administration.

Representatives of rival sects had agreed on Thursday to observe truce till Jan 10, but some elements sabotaged the accord. Both sides are reported to be using heavy weapons in Sadda and Balishkhel and the situation was tense in other areas as well, with both groups trying to consolidate their positions.

According to the handout issued in Peshawar, Governor Aurakzai urged elders of both sects to cooperate with the administration.

He said that after reaching a ceasefire, efforts should be made for lasting peace in the agency.