The Violence between Shia & Sunni muslims intensified in a tribal region of northwest Pakistan on Friday in which 22 people killed & several injured. An official said, “Dead bodies are lying inside houses and in fields”.

Fighting was concentrated in three villages of Kohat district of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province. The tribesmen were armed with semi-automatic weapons, machine guns, mortars & rockets & the civil authorities have asked for the army to help restore order.

The official said, “I have reports that at least 22 people were killed in fighting overnight”.

The latest clashes, between men from the Mishti & Kachai tribes, brought the toll to more than 50 in an outbreak of sectarian violence that began last week.