ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A middle school student was shot dead in Iraq’s southern province of Basra in a tragic case of tribal vengeance, a well-placed source told Rudaw on Monday.
The child victim, identified by Rudaw by the initials M. Y. was a seventh grader at Abu Skheir Middle School for boys in the district of al-Haretha, northeast of Basra.
The informed source told Rudaw that the child “was gunned down by an assailant on a motorcycle while returning home from school,” attributing the tragic killing of the minor to tribal violence.
The Basra Education Directorate issued a statement mourning the loss of the student, condemning the violence and expressing condolences to his family.
This incident comes amid a rising tide of tribal violence in southern Iraq.
In early April, a deadly tribal clash in Diwaniyah province left five people dead and one injured.
The mayor of Diwaniyah district, Kadhim Abdullah al-Jubouri, then told Rudaw that “a personal dispute had erupted between several relatives while they were at a guesthouse in the al-Hard region on the outskirts of al-Shinafiya [west of Diwaniyah].” The confrontation escalated into an armed altercation, resulting in multiple deaths.
A similar tribal conflict took place in late March in Basra’s al-Zubair district, where a clash between two families from the al-Bazzoun tribe left one person dead and eight injured, including a bystander.
Tribal disputes remain a major security concern in Iraq’s southern provinces.
Armed clashes remain a frequent occurrence especially in Basra, Dhi Qar and Maysan provinces, with some requiring intervention from the Iraqi military to contain them. These disputes typically involve the use of light and medium weapons, and in some cases, mortar shells.
The violence is chiefly driven by control over agricultural land, water resources, and border crossings. These disputes are further compounded by the widespread availability of arms. Many tribes in the region possess large stockpiles of arms, often sourced from military caches left behind by the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein or acquired through paramilitary groups.
In recent years, the dynamics of tribal violence have grown more complex. Political parties are increasingly accused of protecting their allied tribes, which has further deepened the problem. This entanglement of tribal, political, and paramilitary interests has made it increasingly difficult for the Iraqi government to enforce the rule of law.
Between 2019 and 2021, Basra alone recorded 280 armed tribal disputes, resulting in 35 deaths and 74 injuries.
