MINGORA, Pakistan — Fighting, which had been rising in Swat in recent days, escalated Tuesday in Mingora and the neighboring town of Saidu Sharif, according to Associated Press reporters and an army statement. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Black-turbaned militants were deployed on most streets and on high buildings in Mingora, and security forces were barricaded in their bases. Khushal Khan, the top administrator in Swat, said insurgents were laying mines in the town to hinder any army advance.
Fearing that war could consume the region, thousands fled the main Swat town of Mingora on Tuesday, witnesses said.
"I do not have any destination. I only have an aim — to escape from here,” said Afzal Khan, 65, who was waiting for a bus with his wife and nine children. "It is like doomsday here.”
Late Tuesday, several dozen militants surrounded a police residential compound in Saidu Sharif after occupying the offices of the police chiefand the civil administration, said an officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
by the associated press
Black-turbaned militants were deployed on most streets and on high buildings in Mingora, and security forces were barricaded in their bases. Khushal Khan, the top administrator in Swat, said insurgents were laying mines in the town to hinder any army advance.
Fearing that war could consume the region, thousands fled the main Swat town of Mingora on Tuesday, witnesses said.
"I do not have any destination. I only have an aim — to escape from here,” said Afzal Khan, 65, who was waiting for a bus with his wife and nine children. "It is like doomsday here.”
Late Tuesday, several dozen militants surrounded a police residential compound in Saidu Sharif after occupying the offices of the police chiefand the civil administration, said an officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
by the associated press
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