January
13, 2008 50 Killed as
Pakistan Army Launches Crackdown in Tribal Areas
Islamabad
Pakistan has launched a massive crackdown on pro-Taliban militants
in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) with as at least 50 militants being
killed in the area populated by the followers of Al Qaeda ally
Baitullah Mehsud.
Troopers Saturday arrested dozens of suspected militants and seized
their vehicles, while a police constable was killed when the
militants attacked police lines in Tank, The News reported Sunday.
The security forces started firing artillery shells from Manzai Fort
at the suspected locations of Baitullah Mehsud-led militants.
The 80-member tribal jirga (assembly of elders) refused to negotiate
between the government and the militants after the security forces
used force against the rebels.
The jirga refused to travel to Ladha subdivision and meet militant
commanders to seek the release of four soldiers; the members
complained that on the one hand the government said it wanted to
resolve the issue through negotiations, but on the other it had
started the use of force.
Tribal as well as official sources told the newspaper from the
troubled region that security forces had erected barricades on the
Wana-Jandola road near Manzai where they stopped vehicles to search
for the Mehsud tribesmen.
Residents said dozens of Mehsud tribesmen were made to disembark
from vehicles and taken into custody. The sources said the forces
seized dozens of vehicles owned by the militants.
Officials of the political administration said Mehsud tribesmen had
been warned to stop the militants from using their territory against
the government. But officials complained they failed to do the
needful.
Meanwhile, Arshad said an estimated 50 militants had been killed in
the area populated by the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan during
the army action over since Wednesday.
He said the military targeted militant hideouts in Ladha and other
places in the area with artillery guns and other weapons and the
operation was continuing. He said the troops began the operation on
Jan 9 and it would continue in the coming days.
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