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Pakistan - Swat valley offensive

Taliban and army clash in streets

Article published on the 2009-05-19 Latest update 2009-05-19 14:17 TU

A Pakistani army tank is transported to Buner district(Photo: Reuters)

A Pakistani army tank is transported to Buner district
(Photo: Reuters)

Pakistan's military on Tuesday said that its troops are locked in battle with Taliban fighters in the streets of several towns in the north-western Swat valley. The army says there have been fierce clashes in the towns of Matta and Kanju as they close in on the main town, Mingora.

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The latest official count puts the death toll of the last 24 hours at 16 Taliban and four soldiers. The army is reported to be clearing houses in several towns and villages in the area, as they advance towards Mingora.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told a meeting of Islamic scholars that the government had to launch the offensive because the Taliban had challenged the writ of the government when they started spreading their influence beyond an area agreed in a peace deal.

"We were left with no option... we will not allow a state within a state," he said.

In Washington on Monday, new CIA director Leon Panetta said the United States will continue to use drones in Pakistan, despite protests there, that they are in violation of territorial sovereignty.

"I think it does suffice to say that these operations have been very effective," he said, claiming that the air strikes from unmanned craft are precise and "limited in terms of collateral damage".

There have been numerous accusations that drones have killed civilians in Pakistan's tribal areas.

The US-based campaign Human Rights Watch on Monday accused the Taliban of using human shields and the army of causing "a high loss of civilian life".

A statement by the organisation quotes Mingora residents as saying that the Taliban are preventing them from fleeing the fighting and laid landmines around the town. About 10,000 people are left in the town.

The group says that the military "appeared to have taken insufficient precautionary measures in aerial and artillery attacks that have caused a high loss of civilian life."