ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq's interior ministry announced Sunday that security forces in the southern Dhi Qar province had arrested 27 suspects in relation to a tribal conflict that broke out earlier in the day.

Reports emerged of a tribal dispute on Sunday in Dhi Qar's Sayyid Dakhil district. The clash had led to the injury of several people, with the guesthouse of a prominent tribal figure being set ablaze during the turmoil.

Following the breakout of the conflict, Dhi Qar police "launched a security campaign to search the area and were able to arrest (27) suspects in this conflict and seized a Kalashnikov rifle and a quantity of medium and light ammunition," the interior ministry said in a statement.

It noted that the conflict came amid Dhi Qar witnessing "remarkable security stability, especially since the beginning of this year," adding that Sunday's spat was a result of an old dispute resurfacing.

A “violent tribal dispute” in the Sayyid Dakhil district of southern Iraq’s Dhi Qar province on Sunday resulted in four injuries and the guesthouse of a prominent figure of the al-Ibrahim tribe being set ablaze

Security forces rushed to cordon off the area and probe the incident pic.twitter.com/o2QAiKlfXr

— The New Region (@thenewregion) October 26, 2025

Dhi Qar has historically seen myriad tribal clashes, although the phenomenon had declined by mid-2025. After years of tribal conflicts, the province recorded only 25 disputes in early 2025, compared to 158 in 2023.

In late August, a tribal dispute over a plot of land in the province escalated into a serious incident that left an Iraqi army officer detained and his cousin injured.

Illegal weapons in Iraq stand out as one of the most pressing challenges to security and stability, with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani repeatedly pledging to address the issue beyond the scope of official and legitimate state institutions in his government program.

Unofficial data puts the number of arms within the Iraqi society at around 15 million medium and light weapons, with armed groups and tribes possessing the bulk of them.

In March, the interior ministry said that it would continue to buy medium-range weapons from the public as part of the government’s efforts to confine arms to the state, while announcing the extension of a nationwide process for registering arms owned by civilians until the end of this year.