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Pakistan lifts curfews in seven Swat Valley towns
The military lifted curfews Monday in seven towns in the Swat Valley in a further sign of confidence that its offensive against the Taliban in the area is making progress.
- AP
- Published: 11:46 June 1, 2009
Mongora: The military lifted curfews Monday in seven towns in the Swat Valley in a further sign of confidence that its offensive against the Taliban in the area is making progress.
The order will allow thousands of people caught in the battle zone to leave their homes and search for food and other supplies that have dwindled, often to nothing, in the past month of fighting.
The loosening of restrictions posed new dangers for residents, however, with one saying he saw soldiers open fire at civilians in Mingora town as they emerged from hiding places, apparently because they suspected they were Taliban.
The military said in a statement that daytime curfews were lifted Monday in the Swat towns of Bahrain, Madyan, Fatehpur, Khwazakhela, Matta and Alpurai and in the nearby district of Shangla.
Pakistan launched an offensive against militants in Swat and surrounding districts a month ago after they violated the terms of a cease-fire and advanced into a region close to the capital, Islamabad.
The Swat offensive has earned US praise as troops have regained large swaths of the region from an estimated 4,000 militants. The fighting has forced up to 3 million people to evacuate, threatening a humanitarian crisis.
A string of suicide bombings away from Swat are likely retaliatory attacks by the Taliban, officials say. A blast at a busy bus terminal in Kohat town on Monday killed at least two people and wounded at least 18 others, said local police officer Zafarullah Khan.
A day after the military declared it had retaken the town, Mingora on Sunday was battle-scarred and a reporter who visited say two decomposing bodies lying unburied in a cemetery and a third, charred corpse near a shopping mall.
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