People move to safer areas due to conflict
Clashes between Lashkar-e-Islam and Zakhakhel in Tirah have forced the local people to move.
ISLAMABAD:
Clashes between Lashkar-e-Islam and Zakhakhel in Tirah have forced the local people to move to safer places. Hundreds of Zakhakhel families have arrived in Landi Kotal, Jamrud, Bara and Peshawar.
A man said, “We have suffered a lot. We are poor and we need accommodation and food.” Many of the displaced people said that United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) had not provided them any assistance so far.
When asked about the displaced people in Khyber Agency, UNHCR spokesperson, Dunya Aslam Khan, replied, “I have no authentic reports about the displacement, as most people moved to their relatives’ and their numbers in camps are low.”
She added UNHCR will provide assistance to anyone who contacts them.
Local officials and security forces have opened all routes for the Zakhakhel tribes and also lifted ban over their movement in Landi Kotal.
The Commandant of Khyber Riffle Col, Asad Farooq, said that they have deployed Frontier Corps personnel in the hills of Zakhakhel and set up bunkers in important places. He said that they are planning to launch operations against the militants to restore the government’s writ in Zakhakhel and other adjacent areas.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2011.
Clashes between Lashkar-e-Islam and Zakhakhel in Tirah have forced the local people to move to safer places. Hundreds of Zakhakhel families have arrived in Landi Kotal, Jamrud, Bara and Peshawar.
A man said, “We have suffered a lot. We are poor and we need accommodation and food.” Many of the displaced people said that United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) had not provided them any assistance so far.
When asked about the displaced people in Khyber Agency, UNHCR spokesperson, Dunya Aslam Khan, replied, “I have no authentic reports about the displacement, as most people moved to their relatives’ and their numbers in camps are low.”
She added UNHCR will provide assistance to anyone who contacts them.
Local officials and security forces have opened all routes for the Zakhakhel tribes and also lifted ban over their movement in Landi Kotal.
The Commandant of Khyber Riffle Col, Asad Farooq, said that they have deployed Frontier Corps personnel in the hills of Zakhakhel and set up bunkers in important places. He said that they are planning to launch operations against the militants to restore the government’s writ in Zakhakhel and other adjacent areas.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2011.