Pakistan Steps Up Swat Offensive
Pakistan steps up Swat offensive
Pakistan’s military is stepping up an offensive against the Taleban, after a weekend in which it said it had killed 200 militants in the Swat valley.
It has begun an artillery bombardment of militant positions.
The UN refugee agency has meanwhile warned of an increase in the number of civilians being displaced as tens of thousands flee the fighting.
The medical director of one district told the BBC the provincial government was coping well with the displaced.
But he called for help from international aid agencies.
“The provincial government is … providing a very great job to these IDPs [internally displaced persons], including free medicine, free food, even the clothes are provided by the government,” said Arshad Ahmed Khan of Mardan.
“We are doing our level best and we are catering for the IDPs, but still we feel that now is the prime time that the NGOs, they should come forward and they should take part in this activity.”
The BBC’s Barbara Plett in Islamabad says the military has been using heavy artillery to soften up the Taleban, which is currently in control of large parts of Swat valley.
It says about 200 militants were killed over the weekend, bringing the total killed in fighting in Swat to 700, but it is impossible to independently confirm these figures.
The government has vowed to eliminate the militants, but our correspondent says this could be a long and difficult battle.
Source:BBC
