UN: Fighting in northwestern Pakistan displaces over 100,000

UN: Fighting in northwestern Pakistan displaces over 100,000

2012-03-31 09:42:06 GMT+7 (ICT)

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (BNO NEWS) -- Military operations against militant groups in northwestern Pakistan have left more than 100,000 people displaced since the fighting began in late January, the United Nations (UN) said on Friday.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that roughly 101,160 people, mostly women and children, have been uprooted by the fighting that began on January 20 in Pakistan's Khyber Agency region of the country's Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA), which borders Afghanistan.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming, during a press conference in Geneva, said newly arrived refugees claimed that the proximity of fighting and instructions by local authorities have caused their evacuation of the area. A recent increase in the intensity of the fighting is driving even larger numbers of families to flee to the safety of Jalozai camp, where UNHCR is registering them and providing them with basic humanitarian supplies.

On average, UNHCR has been registering 2,000 families per day since mid-March. While the UNHCR, along with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), continue to carry out humanitarian aid, the UN World Food Program (WFP) has also been providing food aid in Jalozai.

Currently, there are some 62,818 people in Jalozai camp, of which 47,134 were living in the camp before March 17. Fleming noted that this is now the largest camp for internally displaced people in Pakistan.

In 2009, more than two million people were displaced by similar clashes between Government troops and militants in northwestern Pakistan. The clashes led to one of the largest displacement crises in the world.

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