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More than 40,000 people flee Mingora
[Al Arabiya Latest] More than 40,000 civilians fled the key northwest Pakistani town of Mingora as fears grow of a fresh military offensive against Taliban fighters, as security forces said that sixty-four militants were killed in fighting in the Swat Valley on Wednesday.Clashes have flared in the last few days in Mingora, the main town in the one-time ski resort devastated by a nearly two-year Taliban insurgency, as a peace deal with the hardliners appeared close to collapse. "More than 40,000 have migrated from Mingora since Tuesday afternoon," said Khushhal Khan, the chief administration officer in Swat. Exodus An intelligence official confirmed the mass movement of people, telling AFP that hundreds of cars were streaming out of the area. "An exodus of more than 40,000 people is the minimum number -- it should actually be more than 50,000," he said. The army said 37 militants were killed in two clashes in the Swat Valley. Two soldiers were also killed. A paramilitary force said 27 other militants were killed in the nearby Buner district. Pakistan's military has been locked in a fierce offensive in neighboring districts of Swat in the northwest, where armed militants advanced despite a February deal that the government had hoped would end a Taliban uprising. Panic and confusion spread through Mingora on Tuesday after the military issued -- but then swiftly withdrew -- an evacuation order, and clashes between security forces and the militants broke out throughout Swat. Taliban tighten their grip Khan told AFP that the Taliban overnight tightened their grip on Mingora taking over several buildings, while four civilians were killed in the town -- three in a mortar attack and one shot dead by security forces. "They are patrolling in the streets in Mingora and occupying many official buildings, including a police station and a commissioner's office, which houses offices of top police and administration officials in Saidu Sharif," he said. Local police said that the militants had vacated the buildings and dispersed into nearby mountains, similar to rugged terrain across the northwest where they have fought a guerrilla-style campaign against security forces. The administration of President Asif Ali Zardari came under fierce criticism for the February agreement with an Islamist cleric to put three million people in the northwest under sharia, Islamic law, in a bid to end a Taliban uprising. Instead of disarming as required under the deal, the Taliban pushed further south toward the capital Islamabad, taking over large swathes of the districts of Lower Dir and Buner and prompting the latest army offensive. Posted by: Fred 2009-05-07 |
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