Map of Pakistan locating South Waziristan. A suspected US drone attack killed up to eight people in a remote Pakistani tribal area near the Afghan border, the second such strike in a few days. (AFP Graphics/Afp Infographics/Gal/Js)
Posted on 05/12/2009 8:21:28 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
KOTA, Pakistan (Reuters) – Helicopter-borne Pakistani soldiers swooped into a Taliban stronghold in a remote corner of Swat on Tuesday, as the United Nations urged help for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the fighting.
The military's offensive in Swat, 130 km (80 miles) northwest of Islamabad, is seen as a test of the government's commitment to face up to a growing Taliban insurgency and comes after the United States accused it of "abdicating" to the militants.
The fighting has caused a civilian exodus from the valley, once a tourist destination, raising fears of a humanitarian crisis.
A senior military official overseeing help for the displaced said an estimated 800,000 civilians had fled from the latest fighting. They were joining about 500,000 displaced by earlier fighting in the northwest, said Brigadier Aamir Raza Qureshi.
On Tuesday, helicopters flew soldiers into the Peochar valley, a side valley running northwest off the main Swat valley, where the Taliban have a headquarters, the military said.
"Their mission is to conduct search and destroy operations," military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas told a briefing. "The militants are on the run."
Residents said troops had also been seen moving on the ground toward Peochar.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Map of Pakistan locating South Waziristan. A suspected US drone attack killed up to eight people in a remote Pakistani tribal area near the Afghan border, the second such strike in a few days. (AFP Graphics/Afp Infographics/Gal/Js)
A US drone is armed with a 'Hellfire' missile. A suspected US drone attack killed up to eight people in a remote Pakistani tribal area near the Afghan border -- the second such strike in a few days. (AFP/USAF/File/Us Air Force)
I still doubt whether the Pakistan army is actually killing any Taliban forces. I think they are working with Obama and the UN to cause a “humanitarian crisis.”
I mentioned that possibility yesterday, and now I see that Rooters has begun employing the term.
Only if by displaced by the fighting you mean running from the fascist adherents of a demon worshiping cult.
Very similar to all of the Mexican nationals here in this country that are “displaced by economic situations” in their home country.
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