DIYALA, Iraq — Long-standing enmity between two Shiite Arab tribes in Iraq’s Diyala province resulted in the death of 50 cows this week after members of one tribe attacked a farm belonging to their foe.
Five years ago, a feud took place between two families from the Saadi and Jabouri tribes. As a result, members of the Saadi tribe killed a man and his son from the Jabouri tribe, before being sentenced to death by a local court.
Efforts from the Saadi tribe to receive a pardon for the murders were unsuccessful. In an attempt to blackmail the Jabouris into pardoning the murderers, armed men from the Saadi tribe attacked the farm of the family of the deceased on Monday, killing 50 cows and injuring 25 others.
Salah Aziz, who owns the cows, told Rudaw on Wednesday that the Saadis “wanted to put pressure on me so that I pardon them and sit down with them to reach an agreement, but I rejected it.”
“Therefore, they attacked the farm and killed all the cows, except for a few of them which are injured after being shot in the head.”
This is the second time cows have been killed in disputes between the two tribes.
Saadi tribsesmen once mistakenly attacked the farm of a family who have nothing to do with either tribe.
“Previously, they attacked the farm next to ours and killed cows, believing that it belonged to us. Now, they have attacked our farm, causing a lot of damage,” Mahdi Jassim, from the Jabouri tribe, told Rudaw.
Ali Qado is a Kurdish police officer in Garmiyan, which borders Diyala. He told Rudaw that he has witnessed the feuds of both tribes in the past, criticising them for believing in resolving issues with weapons.
“They succumb to weapons and take revenge through harming not only humans but animals as well,” he said.
