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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan: Militants join exodus from Swat |
| 2009-05-13 |
| [ADN Kronos] By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Many militants were joining hundreds of thousands of residents fleeing the troubled northwestern Swat valley as the military eased a curfew late on Monday, informed sources told Adnkronos International (AKI). It was the last chance for the local population to leave their homes and head for safer areas ahead of an expected escalation of military operations against the Taliban, the sources said. "Most of the militants are on the run. Those left are heavily under siege by the security forces but they are hiding in the population and that's why security forces relaxed the curfew hours from 6 pm to 10 pm," a senior security officer told AKI, speaking on condition of anonymity. "So that people would evacuate the areas and shift their families to the safer places so that military would carry out its operations without the fear of any collateral damage," the source added. In Peshawar, the commissioner for the Afghan refugee camp Syed Jamaluddin Shah told the reporters that three new camps would be established in Noshera and Charsada in the surrounding North West Frontier Province region which would have the capacity to provide shelter to at least 4,000 displaced families. The military says it killed 200 militants in and near the Swat valley over the weekend. The army has deployed up to 15,000 troops to route some 500 militants fighting for the imposition of Islamic law in the Swat valley and neighbouring districts. Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik, said the total number of people killed in fighting in the region is 700, but it is impossible to independently confirm these figures. Some 360,000 people have been registered at displaced camps or registration centres, according to the UN. The government said it expects a million internally displaced people in the area, although the figure could rise to 1.5 million when the next phase of the military operation starts, probably on Tuesday. The army has begun an artillery bombardment of militant positions but had so far avoided a ground deployment, reports said. Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani had announced 1 billion rupees (12.4 million dollars) people displaced by the conflict but so far only a 200 million rupees fund, which amounts to 133 rupees per person per day, has been allocated - hardly enough to buy food. "Pakistan does not have the capacity to arrange the relief operation on its own resources. We appeal to the world community to help Pakistan in this hour of need otherwise the humanitarian crisis shall be out of control" North West Frontier Province information minister Mian Iftikhar Uddin told media on Tuesday in Peshawar. US ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson announced the government would give 4.9 million dollars in immediate emergency assistance to the most vulnerable displaced families in the region, including women and children. The funds are to purchase basic items such as tents, blankets, cooking sets, utility containers, soap, and bedding, she said. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres announced an airlift on Tuesday that will carry some 120 tonnes of urgently needed humanitarian supplies from UNHCR central emergency stockpiles in Dubai to Pakistan. He called on international donors to show solidarity saying: "This is a huge and rapidly unfolding emergency which is going to require considerable resources beyond those that currently exist in the region." UNHCR noted that those fleeing the latest escalation of hostilities in Dir, Buner and Swat districts join another 555,000 previously displaced Pakistanis who had fled military operations against militants in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and in NWFP. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 they fight too someone elses' death |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-05-13 12:23 |
| #4 Yeah, probably, but... Please, don't spoil my schadenfreude with facts, especially as I'm not the type who's very fond of that whole "Reality" schtick to begin with... As a matter of fact, I'm not good at "Reality", not even decent. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2009-05-13 11:57 |
| #3 Not exactly, A5089. They are (a) exfiltrating their best fighters to remain safely among the human shields, and (b) establishing 'refugee' camps that will operate along the lines of Ein-el-Hellhole and Nahr El-Bared. From earlier reports, the Talibs now have over one million (mostly) displaced civilians to bully and rape, and a brand new 'crisis' with which to extort cash from the gullible West. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-05-13 09:09 |
| #2 So, if I understand correctly, they DO fight to the Death... BUT, with a mitiging factor of "or, until I think I won't be able to keep the control of my bowels anywmore, whichever happens first". Escape clause from a non-escape clause code of honer. Brilliant! |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2009-05-13 04:23 |
| #1 "Here you, simple goatherdsman! What're you doin' with that there grenade launcher?" "Fleeing." "Oh. Of course, of course. Carry on, then." |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-05-13 00:44 |