- A soldier has been killed during clashes between two tribes in Iraq’s southeastern province of Maysan.
- The soldier was from one of the two tribes and had been on leave at the time of the clash.
- Eight people were killed in the same region when clashes between members of the same tribe broke out over farmland.
Nine people were killed in Iraq on Wednesday during two separate incidents involving tribal clashes that resulted in the death of a soldier in the country’s south, according to police.
Six people were killed, including the soldier, during a clash between two tribes over agricultural land, according to Saad al-Zaidi, the area’s police spokesman.
The violence in the Al-Uzair district, south of Amarah in the southeastern province of Maysan, lasted several hours, Zaidi told AFP.
The soldier was from one of the two tribes and had been “on leave when the conflict broke out because of disputes over farmland”, he added.
Read More: Six people slain in an Iraq tribal dispute
Despite beefed-up security measures, Maysan province, which borders Iran, is a route for drug traffickers where tribal rivalry often degenerates into violence.
In May, eight people were killed in the same region when clashes between members of the same tribe broke out over farmland.
Further north, in Wasit province, an armed clash between members of the same tribe left three people dead and three others wounded, said Ali Hussein al-Sarai of the local police force.
The violence, which took place in the town of Al-Dubuni, broke out over a dispute between two sides over the right to marry a young woman, he said.
Read More: Deaths, corruptions play havoc in Iraq
Millions of Iraqis are members of tribes characterized by strong patriarchy.
Violence between tribes or within the same clan is common in Iraq, and it frequently occurs without the involvement of law enforcement.
