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| 60 insurgents killed as SWA operation progresses |
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Monday, October 19, 2009
Five soldiers martyred; 100,000 flee war zone
By Irfan Burki & Daud Khattak
WANA/PESHAWAR: The Army claimed killing 60 militants and losing five soldiers with 11 others sustaining injuries in the past 24 hours as the operation Rah-e-Nijat launched in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) entered the second day on Sunday.
In its advance towards the Taliban stronghold of Makeen, the troops clashed with the militants, killing 30 of them in Jandola, Kotkai and Srarogha areas, said a statement of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). It said two soldiers also embraced Shahadat and another four sustained injuries in the clashes. Mandana, Kund and Tarakai areas were secured from this side, added the statement.
The operation progressed seven kilometres north of Shakai from the second direction where the troops had captured areas like Boya Narai and Wozi Sar from the militants, said the ISPR, which also claimed that 20 militants were killed and a soldiers embraced Shahadat while three others sustained injuries in the same area.
Securing some key heights around and south of Razmak, the Army said, the advancing troops killed 10 militants and lost two soldiers with another four sustaining injuries. Two of the injured were Army officers.
In their first reaction since the launch of the ground offensive by the Army, the Taliban rejected the casualty toll mentioned by the ISPR and said only one of their men was killed and three injured in an air raid in the Makeen area.
Calling media offices from an undisclosed location, Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq claimed the militants had inflicted “heavy casualties” on the troops and pushed them back from their strongholds.
There was no independent confirmation of the claims made by both the sides as mobile phones had not been working in Tank, Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu since the launch of the swoop while communication lines were out of order in North and South Waziristan.
Earlier, reports suggested that the troops started advance from three directions. However, Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq claimed it was from four directions. He said the Taliban attacked and inflicted casualties on the troops in Kund and Kalkala during their advance towards Spinkai Raghzai.
The troops were also targeted near Razmak, Faridullah Mela in Shakai, Zawar Mela and Khaisoor, claimed the Taliban spokesman. “We are determined to fight back as this war has been imposed on us,” he added.
Meanwhile, terrified residents arriving in the cities of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan talked of movement of thousands of troops, tanks and other armoured vehicles as well as sorties by jets and helicopter gunships in the area. They said the Taliban had fled to the mountains from Wana several days before the launch of the operation.Some of them had also crossed into the neighbouring Orakzai Agency, sources told The News.
The fleeing population confirmed the troops had consolidated position in Spinkai Raghzai and advanced towards Kotkai on Sunday. In their advance from Razmak side, the troops have controlled the Nawaz Kot area and are now preparing to move forward towards Ladha and Makeen, the power points of Hakimullah Mehsud.
A clash was reported from the Khaisoor area as the troops advanced from Wana and Shakai sides. Both sides suffered casualties but the exact figures could not be ascertained.The influx of fleeing population in the towns of Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and Tank geared up on Sunday where the local administrations had started registering the internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Sources said 3,250 families had been registered in Tank, 8,000 in Dera Ismail Khan and another 3,000 had arrived in Mirali to reach Miramshah, headquarters of North Waziristan.The fleeing population from the affected areas is facing serious problems as all the main routes have been closed for traffic and curfew is in place in some areas. They have to adopt long routes and mostly walk on foot to reach safer areas.
According to political administration officials, 14 counters have been established in Azam Kot to facilitate the registration. In a bid to reach safer places, hundreds of families spent the Saturday night under the open sky in Mirali sub-division as there were insufficient arrangements for shelter.
Agencies add: Accounts from residents and those fleeing South Waziristan on Sunday suggested that 30,000 troops were in for a bloodier time than in Swat Valley.
“Militants are offering very tough resistance to any movement of troops,” Ehsan Mehsud, a resident of Makeen, told The Associated Press in Mir Ali. He and a friend arrived there early Sunday after traveling through the night.
Ehsan said the Army appeared to be mostly relying on air strikes and artillery against militants occupying high ground. He said the insurgents were firing heavy machine guns at helicopter gunships, forcing the air force to use higher-flying jets.A resident in Wana said the insurgents had left the town and were stationed on the borders of the region, determined to block any Army advance.
“All the Taliban who used to be around here have gone to take their position to protect the Mehsud boundary,” Azamatullah Wazir said by phone on Sunday. “The Army will face difficulty to get in there,” he said.
Meanwhile, officials said more than 100,000 people had fled South Waziristan.“Around 100,000 people have been displaced. They are settling in neighbouring Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts,” Colonel Waseem Shahid from an Army support group told AFP.
“Some 80,000 people had already left Waziristan before the operation. More people are coming out. In the last two days, about 1,500 families or you can say some 22,000 people have left the area,” he added.
Officials say the number could rise to 200,000 with more families expected to leave in coming days, despite an indefinite curfew slapped on parts of South Waziristan, normally home to a population of 600,000.
A spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Pakistan confirmed that local authorities had registered more than 100,000 displaced.“Over the last five days, 3,065 families were registered. Before this latest influx, there had been about 80,500 people or 11,000 families,” Ariane Rummery told AFP.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
