September 26, 2008	Friday	Ramazan 25, 1429

MARDAN, Sept 25: The Mardan district government has stopped registration of fresh internally displaced persons (IDPs), particularly from Bajaur Agency, as dozens of families are already living under the open sky outside the camp set up in Sheikh Yasin Town here.

More families are fleeing Bajaur Agency as the military operation and militant activities have intensified in the recent days.

The district government has stopped further registration of IDPs at Sheikh Yasin Town as they argue that the camp had no more room for new IDPs. However, they said that security concern was also a problem in the camp.

Residents of the area said that over 40 families, freshly displaced by the continuing bombardment in Bajaur, were living under the open sky outside the camp in Sheikh Yasin Town.

District Nazim Himayatullah Mayar told this correspondent that more and more people fleeing their homes in Bajaur were reaching Mardan. He said that the Sheikh Yasin Town camp had no more room to accommodate the fresh IDPs. The newly-arrived IDPs were sent to Benazir camp set up at Risalpur in Nowshera district. —Correspondent