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| March 9, 2006 | Thursday | Safar 8, 1427 |
Call to spare civilians in Waziristan operation
MIRALI, March 8: Pakistan’s army and the militants they are fighting near the Afghan border must both take steps to avoid civilian casualties, a rights group said on Wednesday as sporadic violence continued.
Human Rights Watch said it had received reports of civilian deaths and the destruction of property in Miramshah, the capital of North Waziristan tribal agency, but these could not be confirmed because the area is closed off.
Local sources said troops on Tuesday shot dead two residents who broke a curfew imposed by authorities to curb the violence that erupted at the weekend. The deaths could not be confirmed independently.
Despite a lull in the fighting, pro-Taliban militants ambushed the vehicles of the top officials in North Waziristan late Tuesday, killing a guard and injuring two others.
“The Pakistani army and the militants must not target civilians and must take whatever precautions they can to ensure that civilians are not harmed,” Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
“Journalists and human rights monitors should be allowed into the area as soon as possible to find out what has happened in Miramshah.”
Thousands of civilians fled Miramshah after the army tried to put down an uprising by militants angered by a deadly earlier raid on an alleged Al Qaeda training camp.
Around 140 suspected insurgents and five soldiers died in three days of fighting starting on Saturday, before the army retook Miramshah three days later, the military and officials have said.
“Given the scant regard in the past of the militants and army for the welfare of civilians in fighting in the area, HRW expressed concern about possible civilian deaths and injuries,” the group added.—AFP
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