NEW DELHI, June 1 (AlertNet) - Civilians wounded in fighting between the army and Taliban insurgents in Pakistan's northwest are dying as they trek through mountains to reach the nearest hospital, a medical aid group said on Monday.
The military launched an offensive against the Taliban in Swat valley in North West Frontier Province in early May, uprooting more than 2 million people from their homes in one of the world's largest displacement crises in recent times.
While the Pakistani army said on Saturday it had captured Mingora, the main town in Swat, it is reluctant to predict how long the operation will continue. The government has started trucking supplies to 40,000 civilians stranded there, but aid agencies remain concerned about a lack of healthcare, food and water.
"A lot of people have been wounded in the fighting but there are no medical services in many areas like Mingora," said Fazil Tezara, Pakistan head for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Belgium.
"Wounded people are trying to get to the nearest hospital in Timergara (the main town in neighbouring Lower Dir district) but that is a seven-day trek through mountains and people are dying on the way, and their bodies are just lying there."
Aid workers say many of those trapped in Swat are elderly or wounded people, unable to make the trek through the mountains to safer areas.
Some farmers have also chosen not to leave their fields as it is the harvesting season for wheat, but have sent their wives and children out of the area.
The area is still highly insecure as Pakistani forces continue to flush out militants. Aid groups - which have stayed out of Swat due to safety concerns - have focused on providing humanitarian relief to the hundreds of thousands of displaced people living in camps and with host families in surrounding districts.
ANXIOUS AND ISOLATED
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - the only aid agency to have entered Swat since the conflict erupted - says the situation remains dire and there is an urgent need for emergency supplies.
"There is a great deal of anxiety in Swat as people have been cut off from the rest of the world for several weeks and they have no idea what is going on," said Sebastian Brack, ICRC spokesperson in Pakistan.
"Health supplies are virtually non-existent and there are numerous cases of wounded people, no water and food, no electricity and phone lines are down, so we need to start relief work there as soon as possible."
Brack said the ICRC went into Swat on Saturday to assess the situation and were within 10 km of Mingora. The agency is now assessing the security situation and is hoping to start activities in Mingora - including re-establishing family links for thousands of people who have been separated from their relatives - in the coming days.
MSF Belgium, which suspended operations after the fighting began in Swat, said it is also considering restarting its work there, which involved supporting three hospitals with medicine and staff and providing mobile clinics in remote mountain areas.
However, both agencies say they need a safe corridor into the area, regular access, a secure working environment, and a guarantee of safety and respect for their staff and supplies.
The United Nations has been advised by its internal security division not to operate in the area. Officials said recently the world body was considering requesting a humanitarian pause to allow humanitarian agencies to send in supplies and evacuate injured civilians.
But aid workers say this has not been discussed in meetings with the government in recent days - mainly because the authorities are now indicating the offensive in the valley will be over soon. Nonetheless, they underline the need for safe passage into the conflict area.
"If we are asked by the government to go in and provide relief to people inside the conflict zone, and if safe passage is given, then we will help," said Amjad Jamal, spokesperson for the U.N. World Food Programme in Pakistan.
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