NEW DELHI (AlertNet) - As many as 15,000 people are still trapped by fighting between the Pakistani army and Taliban militants along the Afghan border, with little access to food, water and medicine, aid workers say.
The military strikes against the Taliban in their strongholds in the remote, mountainous region of South Waziristan have already forced almost 300,000 people from their homes since May.
But aid workers, who have no access to the area because of the security situation, estimate that between 10,000 and 15,000 people remain in the area - too old or sick to flee or unwilling to leave behind their property and assets.
"We want to go in and assess the situation inside the conflict zone to ensure those living inside can get the required relief," said Manuel Bessler, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
"We also need to have an idea of the extent of damage so we can plan for potential returns once hostilities are over," he added by phone from Islamabad.
The offensive, which spread from northwest Pakistan to the country's impoverished Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
last year, saw about 2.3 million people being displaced at the peak of the crisis, overwhelming authorities and relief agencies.
While many have returned, more continue to be displaced as fighting spreads. Aid agencies are currently responding to the needs of about 1.2 million displaced.
RAZED VILLAGES
International aid agencies are not permitted to work in the area due to the threat of retaliation by the militants, but some of Pakistan's humanitarian community insist they need access to help those trapped by the violence.
Reports from those fleeing the area of Mehsud, which is the main focus of fighting in South Waziristan, suggest that services
are almost non-existent for those who remain.
There have been reports of villages being razed to the ground, no power or telecommunications and very basic health services, aid workers say.
Curfews also mean that food, medical and other supplies cannot reach the area and there are reports that basic services such as local markets are not functioning with provisions dwindling.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is currently supplying medical kits to health facilities in South Waziristan to help treat those with war injuries such as shrapnel and weapon wounds.
But the organisation says it wants to go into the area of hostilities and is currently in negotiations with authorities to at least get access for its national staff in the coming months.
"The Mehsud area is one of the key areas for us to try and address humanitarian problems," said Sebastien Brack, spokesman for the ICRC, in Islamabad.
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