Thousands flee Pakistan’s Swat

Thousands of men, women in burkhas and children were fleeing from their homes in Pakistan's Swat valley where a peace deal with the Taliban looks to be crumbling. A February peace pact aimed at ending Taliban violence in Swat, northwest of the capital has all but collapsed as the government has come under US pressure to get tough with the militants rather than appease them.

Last night, fighting broke out night in Mingora, the main town in Swat, where the Taliban occupied key buildings and defied a curfew, officials say. Officials say that more than 40,000 people have so far fled from clashes between the army and militants in Swat. At least nine people have been killed in the latest Swat fighting, they say. Army helicopters gunships have pounded emerald mines in the Shahdara area, near Mingora, which are being operated by the militants.The army claims to have killed several militants in this attack, but there is no independent confirmation of their claims.

Local people and journalists say five civilians who lived in a settlement near the mine also died in the attack, while many others were injured in a separate air strike. Militants had infiltrated five areas of Mingora, and captured several government buildings, government and security officials said. The top administrator in Swat, Khushal Khan Khattak, urged people to leave the areas as security forces could attack. He later said the fear of fighting had passed and people could stay at home, while the army said it was in control of the town.

That did not reassure the people cramming into and on top of buses to get out. "I'm taking my family to Peshawar because if there's any fighting, no one can protect us," Mohammad Karim, told Reuters news agency as he searched for a bus heading to the main city in the northwest. The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government is now rushing to provide shelter for 500,000 people they expect to flee Swat over the next few days.

The BBC's correspondent in Islamabad says that camps are being set up with UN help to look after people who cannot stay with relatives. The renewed tension in Swat comes before US President Barack Obama meets President Karzai of Afghanistan and President Zardari of Pakistan in Washington, where the increasing violence and the spread of the Taliban has raised alarm about the ability of the nuclear-armed country to stand up to the militants.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children