Land dispute claims 5 lives in Paktia

GARDEZ (PAN): Five people were killed and another 17 injured during a gunbattle between two rival families over a land dispute in southeastern Paktia province on Thursday, officials said.

The incident took place in the morning in Dandi Patan district, the governor’s spokesman Roohullah Samoon told Pajhwok Afghan News. Police had cordoned off the area and both sides had been disarmed, he said.

But provincial council chief, Khaista Jan Ahadi, put the toll at eight dead and 21 injured. Tribal elders and security forces were able stop the fire exchange triggered by a dispute over 25 acres of land.

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