World | Pakistan
100,000 feared to have fled fighting in Bajaur
About 100,000 villagers have fled clashes between security forces and militants in the northwestern Bajaur region, a government official said on Thursday.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:58 August 15, 2008
Khar: About 100,000 villagers have fled clashes between security forces and militants in the northwestern Bajaur region, a government official said on Thursday.
Militants attacked a security post in the area close to the Afghan border last week and security forces have stepped up offensives to dislodge the insurgents.
The area has been known to be a sanctuary for Al Qaida and Taliban fighters.
About 170 people have been killed in the fighting, including some civilians, officials have said. Fighter jets and helicopter gunships have supported ground action by troops.
The violence has triggered an exodus, with people streaming out of the region on packed pick-up trucks and on foot, many heading for the safety of the main northwestern city of Peshawar.
The displaced people are creating one more problem for the coalition government as it tries to come to grips with political wrangling - the possibility of President Pervez Musharraf's impeachment being one reason for that - while economic and security problems mount.
"We are gathering figures from various areas and it is close to 100,000, it may be more than that," said Sitara Imran, Minister for Social Welfare in the North West Frontier Province about the mass exodus.
"This will create a big humanitarian problem ... We are going to appeal to civil society and international donor agencies for help," Imran said.
Prisoners in their homes
Bajaur is northernmost of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions and abuts Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar, where US troops are battling Al Qaida and Taliban fighters.
Villager Mohammad Maroof walked for many hours with his family to get out of Bajaur, where he said life had become intolerable.
"There is no such thing as life in Bajaur. We were like a prisoners in our own homes," said Maroof, who has taken refuge with friends in Peshawar.
Imran said the humanitarian situation was expected to deteriorate with people also leaving the northwestern valley of Swat amid an escalation of hostilities.
Nearly 150 people have been killed in two weeks of renewed clashes in the valley, which until last year was one of the country's main tourist destinations.
The election of a civilian government in February brought a lull in militant violence as it sought to make peace deals in various trouble spots but trouble has flared again in recent weeks.
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