Saturday, May 16, 2009

Pakistan: Army chief tours front as refugees flee

Peshawar, 14 May (AKI) - Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani on Thursday toured the army frontlines in the northwest Swat valley, where troops are fighting Taliban militants. The army chief met field commanders and troops and observed operations being carried out against the militants, the army said in a statement.It was Kayani's first reported visit to the area, which has been hard hit by a two-year Taliban insurgency aimed at enforcing a strict interpretation of Islamic or sharia law, since the military launched a massive operation in the district last week.Artillery shelled suspected hideouts in Swat and the neighbouring district of Lower Dir on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of new casualties on the 18th consecutive day of operations in the northwest.The military said up to 15,000 troops are fighting an estimated 4,000 well-armed fighters in Swat, where Islamabad is committed to wiping out extremists.Meanwhile, the United Nations' refugee agency said on Thursday a total of 834,000 civilians have now fled the recent fighting between Pakistani government forces and the Taliban in the northwest of the country.The figure rose by more than 163,000 since Wednesday, as desperate families climbed onto trucks and tractors, or fled on foot from the three worst-affected districts to hastily set up camps."Some 834,000 IDPs (internally displaced people) have been registered so far. This is a massive, massive displacement in the world today," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres."Pakistan is passing through a difficult period. The international community should come forward and help Pakistan. I cannot give a figure, but they need a lot of help," he added as he toured the Yar Hussain camp in Swabi district.The massive number of refugees join another 500,000 people who have fled previous bouts of fighting in the northwest last year, according to the UN.With more than 1.3 million people displaced, Human Rights Watch has warned that Pakistan is facing its biggest movement of people since the partition of India in 1947.

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