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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.
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