Mr de Villepin's government is perilously perched: vulnerable to fratricide from within, exposed to discontent from without.

ECONOMIST: The 100-day man

This destructive tension has set brother against brother, a deadly fratricide that has tortured intra-Islamic relations for 1, 300 years.

NPR: Memoir: Bhutto Knew of Dangers in Her Return

Haunted by the prospect of another bout of fratricide, with each party controlling large militias, ordinary Kurds are twitchy.

ECONOMIST: Iraq's Kurds

But as reports came in from the troops at the scene, McChrystal realized Tillman may have died by fratricide.

NPR: McChrystal Takes Blame For Rolling Stone Article

Foreigners have stayed well away from Colombia's continuing fratricide, whose origins can be traced back through la Violencia of 1948-58 (about 200, 000 dead) to unmediated wars a century ago.

ECONOMIST: Other people��s wars