Casualties as Pakistani forces open fire at Bannu protesters

KABUL (Pajhwok): A number of people reportedly suffered casualties when Pakistani soldiers opened fire at protesters in Bannu districts of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday.

Tens of thousands of people staged a protest demonstration against a recently launched military operation in Bannu.

The protesters said they would not allow their land to become part of a new war.

Local journalists told the BBC that Pakistani security forces opened fire at the protesters and some suffered casualties.

Doctors at a local hospital confirmed receiving one dead body and 23 injured people to the hospital.

In June, the military launched operations in Bannu and some other areas of Khyber Pakhunkhwa province against local militants.

In July, eight Pakistani soldiers were killed and several others wounded after a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle against the wall of a military center in Bannu.

The military had said ten terrorists tried to enter the cantonment, but they were repelled and all were killed in clashes with security forces.

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