ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Ethnic violence leaves six dead in Karachi

Pakistani police patrolled troubled neighbourhoods in Karachi in armoured vehicles on Wednesday, after a night of ethnic violence left six people dead and several injured.

The violence that has been terrorising this southern port city in recent weeks has left more than 150 people dead. Many of them are civilians caught in the crossfire.

The combatants -- rival members of the Mohajir Quami Movement -- roam the city's congested streets, often at night, attacking rivals with automatic rifles.

Late on Tuesday, gunmen attacked an office of the movement's largest faction led by exiled leader Altaf Hussein, killing two people and injuring two others. No one was arrested.

In a separate incident, gunmen broke into the home of a Hussein-supporter and killed two people.

A fifth Hussein activist was killed in a shootout in the troubled Orangi neighbourhood in eastern Karachi. A young boy was hit by a stray bullet and is in hospital. He is out of danger, police said.

On Tuesday, the police had swept several neighbourhoods of Karachi, arresting an estimated 200 people, most of them young men. No charges have been laid, and it isn't clear whether the arrested were involved in the latest round of violence.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report