Residents urged to fight in Swat Valley

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

refid:11620682 ilişkili resim dosyası

As hundreds of thousands of people fled the area, the military in Swat, in the North West Frontier Province, or NWFP, issued a statement appealing for the residents to "declare war" on the Taliban, reported Al Jazeera on its Web site. "The military is making a passionate and fervent appeal to the brave and patriotic citizens of Swat that they should stand up and declare a war against the miscreants who have undermined the peace and stability of the valley," the statement said.

"The people should extend all their support in the drive against the miscreants in order to make this operation successful." The army said yesterday that it had killed at least 180 suspected militants over the previous 24 hours. It said at least 140 bodies of alleged militants were discovered in Shangla, a district next to Swat where fighting appears to have greatly intensified.

Advancing troops destroyed a militant training camp in Shangla's Banai Baba area and battled militants at a bridge in the Chamtalai area, it said, according to The Associated Press.

In Swat, the main town of Mingora was relatively calm. But the army statement reported some 50 to 60 militants had died yesterday in various parts of the mountainous valley. Two soldiers died in the latest fighting, including one who succumbed to injuries suffered Friday, the army said.

Growing humanitarian crisis
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have already fled the valley, seeking refuge with relatives or flooding relief clamps - adding a humanitarian crisis to the nuclear-armed nation's economic, political and other woes.

Once the curfew was lifted early yesterday, more residents in Swat towns tried to get out any way they could - on motorbikes, animal-pulled carts, rickshaws or simply on foot. A ban on civilian vehicles entering the valley complicated the exodus for those without cars. "We are going out only with our clothes and a few things to eat on the long journey," said Rehmat Alam, a 40-year-old medical technician walking out of Mingora with 18 other relatives. "We just got out relying on God because there is no one else to help us."