Signs of confidence grow as curfew is lifted in Swat

Mingora: Pakistan lifted curfews yesterday in seven towns in the Swat valley in a further sign of confidence that its military offensive against the Taliban there is making progress, though violence flared elsewhere.

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.

"I saw two people who came out to ask for relief goods and they opened the fire on them from the mountains," said Gohar Ali, one of many Mingora residents who had been trapped for weeks in his home until a curfew was lifted briefly on Sunday. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said he was unaware of the incident.

The military said in a statement that daytime curfews were lifted yesterday 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 ceasefire 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 three 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 one person and wounded at least eight others, said local police chief Mohammad Idress.

A day after the military declared it had retaken the town, Mingora on Sunday was battle-scarred and an Associated Press reporter who visited said two decomposing bodies lying unburied in a cemetery and a third, charred corpse near a shopping mall.

"We have been starving for many days. We have been cooking tree leaves to keep ourselves alive. Thank God it is over," said resident Afzal Khan. "We need food. We need help. We want peace."