Thousands flee fearing Waziristan next in line

PESHAWAR (AFP) - Thousands of people have started fleeing Waziristan region, fearing the expansion of a military offensive against Taliban fighters, officials said Sunday.
Security forces have been bombarding Taliban positions in three northwest districts for nearly a month in a push to eradicate militants from the area, and the operation has displaced more than 1.7 million people since May 2.
Now, residents in North and South Waziristan worry that Taliban fighters holed up in their region will be the next target.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that people had started streaming into the neighbouring districts of Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan.
More than 10,000 people have already arrived from South Waziristan, Iftikhar told AFP, adding that they were mostly staying with relatives or had rented private houses for their families. But if the trickle continues and their numbers grow we will set up camps for them in Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan. We have already sent our proposal to the (United Nations refugee agency) UNHCR, he said.
The fresh exodus follows Press reports last week in which President Asif Zardari said that the government might consider an operation in Waziristan, similar to the ongoing anti-Taliban action in Swat Valley.
The minister neither denied nor confirmed the reports, saying only that 'it is up to the Federal Government to decide how to tame militants in the area.
Residents and officials in the North Waziristan region also said that panic-stricken people with belongings bundled into cars and pick-up trucks were leaving the main town of Miranshah.
I have seen a large number of vehicles moving out of North Waziristan, said Saadat Ali, a security official at a checkpost out of the region.