A fresh flood of refugees poured out of Pakistan’s Swat valley yesterday as authorities temporarily relaxed a curfew ahead of a looming ground onslaught against the Taliban.
The UN refugee agency said more than 834,000 civilians had been registered since May 2, adding to another 555,000 civilians who fled escalating violence last year.
But not all the displaced people have registered and a minister in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), where Swat is situated, estimated the fresh displacements at 1.5 million, with nearly 1 million more still stuck in their homes.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called for “winning the hearts and minds” of the uprooted people, saying: “It will be very unfortunate if we win militarily but lose publicly.”
Security forces temporarily lifted the curfew in parts of Swat and the nearby districts of Lower Dir and Buner from 6am to 2pm yesterday to allow the population to flee the intense fighting between the military and the Taliban militants.
Nearly 15,000 troops with air and artillery support are trying to eliminate up to 5,000 hardcore insurgents. But so far urban warfare has been avoided to prevent civilian casualties.
Fresh battles are expected in Mingora, Swat’s main town, where tens of thousands of people are still believed to be stranded.
The army said the offensive was “progressing well” and soldiers had established a foothold in Peuchar, a key militant bastion where airborne troops were dropped this week for search-and-destroy missions.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres visited one of the makeshift refugee camps on Thursday and sought international support for the displaced people.
Officials described the mass exodus as the largest since the country gained independence in 1947.
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