QUETTA, May 16: Three people were killed and 10 others injured in an exchange of fire between law-enforcement personnel and Afghan refugees resisting demolition of a refugee camp in the Jungle Pir Alizai area of Qila Abdullah on Wednesday.

According to official sources, refugees and local tribesmen blocked the National Highway linking Quetta with Afghanistan through Chaman and a mob set on fire two official vehicles, one belonging to Wapda. They also pelted many passing vehicles with stones.

Balochistan Inspector General of Police Tariq Mehmood Khosa confirmed the action taken by the law-enforcement agencies in the area and said some casualties had been reported.

According to the sources, personnel of the Balochistan Constabulary and the Frontier Corps, DCO of Qila Abdullah and representatives of the Afghan Refugees Organisation visited the Jungle Pir Alizai area on the orders of the government to start action against unregistered refugees living in the area.

The federal government has fixed June 15 and August 31 for closing the Jungle Pir Alizai and Girdi Jungle refugee camps, respectively. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has already announced that after their closing, it will not extend any help to the refugees in the camps.

Demolition of already-abandoned houses in the refugee camp was started in the presence of law-enforcement personnel and some people started the protest and attacked and injured a bulldozer driver.

Security personnel fired teargas shells but the angry mob did not disperse and blocked the main Quetta-Chaman highway.

The sources said the protesting refugees and other people took positions on the nearby mountains and started firing on the security personnel, who returned fire. Abdul Rehman, Giran and Wali Mohammad were killed in the firing. According to police sources, the heavy exchange of fire continued for several hours. They said law-enforcement agencies had arrested three leaders of the protesters, Mano Jan Kakozai, Zardad Khan Kakozai and Wali Mohammad Hasanzai.

Three of the injured were taken to the Bolan Medical Complex Hospital and seven to a hospital in Qila Abdullah.