IceCold
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Armed tribesmen assemble to hunt down killers of eight peace committee elders
WANA, Pakistan, Jan 9 (AFP) - Thousands of armed tribesmen met at Wana in Pakistans South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan Wednesday vowing to organise a lashkar (legion) to hunt down Al-Qaeda-linked militants blamed for killing eight of their elder kinsmen. The tribal jirga (council) came three days after militants stormed two offices and killed eight tribal elders of a government-sponsored peace committee. One man from each house should come to Wana with a gun at 10:00 am (0500 GMT) on Thursday to plan our defence and act against those who are responsible for disorder, tribal chief Malik Ghaffar told the gathering. Wazir tribe chief Maulvi Nazir, who earned fame after he drove out hundreds of Uzbeks from the region last year in bloody clashes, is expected to address the lashkar on Thursday. He did not turn up at Wednesday's meeting but had earlier blamed Baitullah Mehsud, a top Al-Qaeda commander and leader of the rival Mehsud tribe, for the killing of the peace committee members. Residents have reported that announcements have been made on public address system asking Mehsud tribesmen to leave Wana to avoid losses. Baitullah is accused by the government of masterminding a spate of suicide attacks in the country, including the December 27 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in a gun and suicide bomb attack in Rawalpindi. Local sources told AFP his tribe was preparing a jirga to negotiate with the Wazir tribe to avoid confrontation. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
- DAWN - Latest Stories; January 09, 2008
PA should assist them with their superior fire power. Or perhaps PAF should and let the remaining be cleared out by the Lashkar it self.