Fears for thousands of children fleeing fighting in Pakistan

There are serious concerns for the welfare of the thousands of children fleeing fighting in Pakistan. Aid agencies raised the alert today as the United Nations appealed for a total of $543m (£342m) in humanitarian aid to help more than 1.6 million people displaced by fighting in north-west Pakistan. The UN said the "extraordinary" exodus had caused "incredible suffering". It said the cash was needed to help fund about 165 projects it had drawn up to help those displaced.

Tens of thousands of people are being housed in camps south of the main fighting zone in the Swat valley. Pakistan's army began an offensive on 2 May against the Taliban after a peace deal broke down and militants began spreading their area of influence. An unusually high number of the displaced who are flooding into refugee camps and towns are children - thought to be up to 70% in some areas. The North West Frontier Province authorities have said there could be an additional 500,000 displaced people from the conflict areas.

Aid workers in the 18 camps which have been set up in various locations in the Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Charsadda and Swabi districts are not sufficient to cope with the massive influx of people. "Most of these people are in a state of shock from the firing and shelling they have experienced," said agency director Haider Waseem Yaqub, Reuters news agency reported. "Children especially still feel frightened in the camps and cry when there is a loud noise. "The community in the camp is getting further distressed mentally, emotionally and physically since there is a lack of basic necessities, especially food, medicine and electricity.

"Children are the most vulnerable as they have lots of needs. They are under great trauma and need special attention but there are no special arrangements for them. There are lots of girls and boys who now have no safe place to go." Aid officials in Pakistan said they are also worried that people who have been driven from their homes by the fighting will struggle with their temporary living conditions. Many had walked great distances on foot carrying their few belongings and many experienced problems finding the camps.

Martin Mogwanja, acting United Nations humanitarian coordinator, said: "The scale of this displacement is extraordinary in terms of size and speed and has caused incredible suffering."We are calling for generous support from the international community." The UN said it was working with authorities to "ensure we get relief to people as quickly as possible".

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children