Warring tribes in northwest Pakistan agree to a cease-fire after bloodshed

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A government spokesman in Pakistan’s volatile northwest says Shiite and Sunni Muslim tribes have agreed to a cease-fire. Violence has rocked Kurram district since gunmen ambushed a convoy of Shiite Muslims last Thursday, killing 42. The assault triggered retaliatory attacks and rampages that killed dozens more people from both communities. Sunday’s cease-fire was agreed after a government delegation spoke to Shiite and Sunni elders. Shiite Muslims make up about 15% of the 240 million people in Sunni-majority Pakistan. Although the two groups generally live together peacefully, tensions remain, especially in Kurram.