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25 May 2009 Thousands of civilians trapped in
Pakistan's Swat valley, where the military is battling
Taliban forces, face a "humanitarian catastrophe"
unless help reaches them soon, a rights group has
said.
Human Rights Watch says the military must lift its
curfew of the area, which has been in place for a full
week, and airdrop essential food, water and medicine
to the 200,000 residents trapped there.
Brad Adams, the Asia director of the US-based group,
said on Tuesday: "People trapped in the Swat conflict
zone face a humanitarian catastrophe unless the
Pakistani military immediately lifts a curfew that has
been in place continuously for the last week.
"The government cannot allow the local population to
remain trapped without food, clean water, and medicine
as a tactic to defeat the Taliban."
Human Rights Watch said it was getting persistent
reports of civilian casualties from army shelling and
aerial bombardments as well as reports that the
Taliban is killing civilians.
Tens of thousands of people remain in the region where
the army is carrying out its campaign against the
Taliban. A peace deal fell apart earlier in the year.
'Human suffering'
More than two million people fled the military
offensive, but those left behind are unable to leave
because of the fighting and because the military has
surrounded towns and blocked off valleys.
The massive displacement caused poses not only a major
burden on the economy, being kept afloat by a $7.6bn
International Monetary Fund loan, but could undercut
public support for the offensive.
Adams said: "The Pakistani government should take all
possible measures including air drops of food, water,
and medicine to quickly alleviate large-scale human
suffering in Swat.
"Both sides should allow a humanitarian corridor that
would let civilians escape the fighting and for
impartial humanitarian agencies to evacuate and aid
civilians at risk."
There was no immediate comment from the military.
Battle for Mingora
Last week, Lieutenant-General Nadeem Ahmed, who heads
the government's relief operation, said that up to
200,000 civilians are stranded and that the
authorities might have to drop food to them.
Ahmed said most people still in the valley were in its
northern reaches, which had been relatively calm, and
the authorities wanted them to stay put, rather than
risk travelling through the war zone in and around
Mingora to the south.
In Swat's main city of Mingora, soldiers are moving
from house to house battling fighters. Clashes are
also taking place in other parts of the valley,
according to military reports.
The military has said its operation in Mingora, where
between 10,000 to 20,000 civilians are thought to
still be trapped, will be a slow process "to avoid
civilian casualties".
Further attacks
A Taliban commander reportedly ordered his fighters to
leave the city on Monday, saying the move was
necessary to prevent civilian casualties.
Major-General Athar Abbas, a military spokesman,
dismissed the Taliban's call as a "ploy" to allow
their fighters to escape.
Elsewhere in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province
on Tuesday, two blasts killed a man and wounded five
people.
One roadside bomb targeted a police van patrolling in
Tank district, near the tribal area of South
Waziristan, injuring two policemen.
In a separate attack in the nearby region of Dera
Ismail Khan, a hand grenade was lobbed into the home
of a Shia family, killing one man and wounding three
others, a police official in the region said. -- Al
Jazeera and agencies
EsinIslam.Com
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