Thousands flee Swat valley in Pakistan as curfew lifted

ISLAMABAD: Thousands of terrified civilians on Sunday fled the Swat valley after relaxation of curfew, where Pakistani security forces are
engaged in fierce clashes with the resurgent Taliban, even as the authorities feared over a million people may be displaced.

Authorities say they more than 100,000 people will quit their homes from the embattled Swat valley.

Pakistan has asked residents of the Swat to leave the valley over the past week, while its fighter jets and helicopter gunships have pounded Taliban positions in an operation backed by the US, which has been termed by Yousuf Raza Gilani as "war of the country's survival."

Thousands of people continued to flee Swat as curfew was relaxed from 6 am to 6 pm on Sunday but the people were facing problems due to lack of transport.

Authorities barred the entry of vehicles from outside Swat and people fleeing their homes faced problems as very few cars and buses were available within the valley.

Reports from Mingora, the main city in Swat, said hundreds of people were walking for days to reach relief camps set up by the authorities. The indefinite curfew at Maidan in Dir has created a shortage of essential items.

Revised estimates prepared by authorities and aid agencies said up to a million people could be displaced by the fighting in the NWFP.