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Thousands flee Swat as Pakistani forces fight militants

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-07 11:02

ISLAMABAD -- Thousands fled for safe places as Pakistani security forces and Taliban-linked militants Wednesday fought gun battle in the restive Swat valley in the country's northwest.

An internally displaced girl, fleeing military operations in Buner, holds her sibling at a UNHCR camp (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) in Mardan, about 100 km (60 miles) north west of Pakistan's capital Islamabad May 6, 2009. [Agencies]

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who arrived in Mardan, a main city in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), from the Swat valley are facing problems to get shelter and food, according to local press reports.

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NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that he expects hostilities in Swat will displace around 500,000 people. He said that camps had been set up for the IDPs.

The security forces entered Mingora, the main city in the Swat valley, early Wednesday morning to expel hundreds of Taliban, who Tuesday occupied main buildings, government offices and major roads.

Reports quoted witnesses in Mingora as saying that they were hearing heavy firing in the city. They said that the army used heavy artillery to shell emerald mines at the Fizaghat area, a kilometer from Mingora.

There has been no report of casualties as journalists are not allowed to visit the war-shattered area.

The authorities have imposed curfew for an indefinite period in Swat and Malakand areas, forcing the people to confine to their homes.

Witnesses said that people wanted to flee but the curfew had forced them to stay indoors.

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