Pakistan Expects Up To 500,000 Refugees From Swat

[tekisui]

Source: AP

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani minister says the government expects up to 500,000 people to flee fighting between the army and the Taliban in a northwestern valley.

Information minister for the northwest, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, says authorities are preparing six camps to accommodate those expected to flee the Swat Valley in the coming days.

Witness and officials say fighting between troops and militants broke out in Swat on Tuesday and that hundreds were fleeing.

The region had been covered by a much criticized cease-fire that has slowly broken down in recent weeks.

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