http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/05/200953010547715690.html
UPDATED ON:
Saturday, May 30, 2009
19:04 Mecca time, 16:04 GMT
Pakistan army 'regains' Swat city
About 15,000 troops are battling Taliban
fighters in the country's northwest [EPA]
Pakistan's army has gained control of the main city in the Swat valley
after several days of street-to-street battles with Taliban fighters, a
military spokesman has said.
Major-General Athar Abbas said on Saturday that the centre of Mingora had
been secured, but
troops were still facing some resistance on the outskirts of the city.
"As far as Mingora city, security forces have taken over," Abbas said.
"There are still pockets of resistance. They are on the periphery of
Mingora city."
There was no immediate comment from the Taliban on the reports.
'Key victory'
Imran Khan, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad, said: "Our producer
has been the only international news journalist to get access to the town of
Mindora, and what he saw was consistent with what the military is saying.
In depth
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Video: Inside the war zone in Mingora city
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Diary: Imran Khan
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Riz Khan: The battle for the soul of Pakistan
Interview: Asif Ali Zardari
Q&A: The struggle for Swat
Your views: Crisis in Swat
The fight for northwest Pakistan
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Pakistan's war
Witness: Pakistan in crisis
"There was a fierce fight to take control of the town. The army had to
clear landmines and IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and a huge cache of
weapons within the town.
"So they're very keen to tell the media about their gains.
"Although this is a key victory, there are still things that the army
needs to do.
"Mullah Fazlullah, for example, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, is
on the loose and is a symbol for Taliban resistance, so there is a lot of work
that needs to be done."
The majority of Mingora's 300,000 residents fled before the military
moved into the city, but the onset of urban warfare had rasied fears of
civilian casualties.
People who remained in the city during the fighting had reported that
there was no electricity and food and water were scarce.
Abbas said that doctors had been sent to Mingora to reopen the hospital
and work had begun on restoring electricity supplies, but it would be at least
two weeks before the system was running properly again.
'Much more fight'
About 15,000 troops have been fighting the Taliban in the Swat, Lower Dir
and Buner districts of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) for a month in an
attempt to wrest the area from their control.
The military has said that more than 1,200 fighters and 80 soldiers have
died in the offensive, but the figures are impossible to confirm as access to
the region is limited.
Abbas said that the battle for the Swat valley was still far from over.
"We're only talking about Mingora. Much more fight in Swat is left," he
said.
Pakistani security forces dropped leaflets on Charbagh town on Saturday,
advising residents to leave the area before a possible military operation was
launched, the AFP news agency reported.
"There are intelligence reports about the presence of a number of
important Taliban commanders in the area," a security official said.
Pakistan has raised its cash reward for the capture of Maulana Fazlullah,
a Taliban leader in the Swat valley, to 50 million rupees ($615,000).
The government had earlier announced a reward of $62,000 for anyone who
helped track down Fazlullah.
The interior ministry also published the names and photographs of several
Taliban fighters, offering rewards for their capture, dead or alive.
Fazlullah is accused of leading Taliban fighters in a campaign of
violence that has seen opponents beheaded, scores of schools burned and
government forces attacked.
'Symbols of resistance'
Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from Islamabad, said the Taliban could
see the bounties as a success.
Pakistan has offered rewards for the capture of several Taliban
fighters
"What analysts are telling us is that by giving this kind of reward, what
you're doing is upping the value of people like Fazlullah and turning them into
totems, symbols of resistance.
"You have to question whether anybody is actually going to turn Fazlullah
in for that kind of money.
"It's a very poor area. Anyone with access to that cash will immediately
be suspected of spying and the Taliban has killed anyone they suspect of that
in the valley before."
About 2.4 million people have fled the fighting. There are no figures of
civilian casualties, but some of the displaced have told of innocent relatives
being killed.
Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, visited a camp for displaced
families on Friday, saying they would soon be able to return home.
"The day is not far off when you will return in a better atmosphere than
that which forced you to abandon your homes,"
The United Nations has called for more support to help Pakistan cope with
the humanitarian crisis.
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