PARIS — With
their possessions piled on pickup trucks or escaping on foot, thousands of
people were reported to be fleeing the conflict in Pakistan’s
Swat Valley on Thursday as the International Committee of the Red Cross said
that up to half a million people may have been uprooted by the fighting.
The
international body, based in Geneva, also said the conflict between government
forces and Taliban
militants had severed its access to places where civilians most needed help and
that a humanitarian crisis was worsening...........
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UNHCR - UN
Refugee Agency
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/media?page=home&id=4a01a9562
UNHCR
Deeply Concerned About Safety of Tens of Thousands of Displaced Civilians and
Refugees in Pakistan
GENEVA, May
6 (UNHCR) – UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres on Wednesday
expressed deep concern over the safety of tens of thousands of displaced
civilians and refugees in north-western Pakistan as UNHCR prepared to step up
its humanitarian assistance to the region.
"As
part of the UN response, UNHCR is already sending humanitarian aid items to new
camps that we are helping to set up in the Mardan and Swabi districts,"
Guterres said in Geneva. "We are also assisting authorities to establish
two new reception centres and two more are planned for newly displaced people
on main routes adjacent to the conflict zone. We are also helping with their
registration.
"In
addition to helping displaced Pakistanis, I am also deeply concerned over the
well-being of some 20,000 registered Afghan refugees who have been affected by
the conflict in the Buner, Lower Dir and Upper Dir regions," the High
Commissioner added.
"We
have reports that many have fled together with the local population. Some have
chosen to return to Afghanistan with UNHCR assistance and others have chosen to
relocate to existing refugee sites in Pakistan."
The number
of people so far displaced by the recent escalation of fighting between
government forces and militants is not yet clear. North West Frontier Province
authorities have said an additional 500,000 people from the conflict area in
and around Swat could be affected by continuing and possible future
hostilities. Over the past four days, UNHCR has helped authorities register
nearly 45,000 people, and to establish 12 registration points for people
fleeing the area.
Since August
2008, UNHCR has had a substantial internal displacement operation in Pakistan
as part of the UN response. Before the recent escalation of hostilities in
Lower Dir, Buner and Swat there were more than 555,000 internally displaced
people from tribal areas and NWFP registered by UNHCR and authorities in North
West Frontier Province. The vast majority of them – more than 462,000 people –
are living in rental accommodation or with host families.
More than
93,000 others have been staying in 11 camps supported by UNHCR, other UN
humanitarian agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the Red Cross and
Red Crescent family.
Guterres
appealed to all parties to respect humanitarian principles and to ensure the
protection and freedom of movement of civilians caught up in the conflict, as
well as the safe passage of relief goods and humanitarian workers.