200 killed as Pakistani troops battle border militants

Peter Walker and agencies
Tuesday October 9, 2007
Guardian Unlimited


A Pakistani soldier on patrol at Lwara Fort in North Waziristan. Photograph: Declan Walsh

Almost 200 people have been killed in three days of fighting between the Pakistani army and militants near the Afghan border, military officials said today.

The battles in the lawless North Waziristan region have left 150 militants and 45 soldiers dead, with up to 15 troops listed as missing, an army statement said.

The army has rejected a proposed ceasefire and plans to "continue punitive action until complete peace is restored" in the region, which is seen as a major stronghold of pro-Taliban and al-Qaida groups, the army statement added.

Article continues

---

---

Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, who secured a new five-year term in office in a controversial vote at the weekend, faces intense US pressure to crack down on militant activity.

Washington fears North Waziristan has become a safe haven for al-Qaida forces, which are using it as a launching pad to attack coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani army operation has proved unexpectedly bloody, with soldiers struggling to impose any authority in the remote, mountainous area.

The army, which has used helicopters and jets to strafe militant positions, said it had re-established contact with 35 soldiers reported missing in an ambush yesterday. Fifteen more soldiers remain unaccounted for.

The pro-Taliban rebels are well trained and equipped, and are using the "latest weaponry and lots of money" brought across the border, a Pakistani official told the AFP news agency.

Fighting has centred on Mir Ali, the second-largest town in the region. One official said up to a dozen civilians were killed yesterday after a shell hit a home. Many locals have since fled the town.

"Our homes have been severely damaged. Most families have moved to relatives' homes in neighbouring towns," resident Faridullah Khan told the agency.

Other people were using loudspeakers at the mosques to beg the military not to fire at their homes, a local resident said.

The fighting follows the collapse of several peace deals in which tribal elders were meant to curb local militancy in return for a withdrawal of security forces.

source: guardian news