Up to 1.2 million civilians have fled the fighting between Pakistan security forces and Taliban militants in the Swat valley region, only to find themselves in refugee camps that are ill-equipped to provide for their burgeoning numbers.
As the Pakistani army and the Taliban engage in bitter fighting in the northwest of the country, nearly 500,000 civilians have started fleeing the conflict zone. NGOs fear an unprecedented crisis.
Taliban militants are retreating north to the Swat valley's main city, Mingora, in the wake of a military offensive, local observers have told Mathieu Mabin, France 24's correspondent in Islamabad.
Pakistan bombed Taliban positions in the Swat valley on Friday, a day after Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said armed forces would "eliminate militants and terrorists". Nearly 70 militants have been killed, according to a military spokesman.
The Taliban have destroyed or closed all schools for girls in Pakistan's Swat Valley, deeming that their education need not continue after the age of eight. The Pakistani government is powerless in the matter.
The leader of Pakistan’s Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, has reportedly claimed Monday’s deadly assault on a police academy in Lahore. Yet among the region’s insurgents, some are sceptical of the claim.
Marc Lellièvre 
