PESHAWAR (Agencies) - Around 28,000 people have fled Kurram Agency region where the military is conducting a fresh offensive to evict militants along the Afghan border, officials said Tuesday. Thousands of families escaped Kurram in a mass exodus after the offensive was launched on Monday, with the army saying that artillery and fighter jets had swung into action to drive out terrorists. The military was also aiming to open up the main road bisecting the district, which is often troubled by sectarian violence. About 4,000 families, with an average seven members each, had already left, said government official Sahibzada Anis, sparking fears authorities and charities might struggle to cope with the sudden surge of refugees. More than 450 families were seeking shelter in camps or school buildings in the area while the majority of the displaced people had gone to their relatives living in different places, he said. The authorities will provide food and relief goods to the uprooted tribesmen as efforts are made to restore peace in the region, he added. On Monday, officials put the number of displaced at 1,000 families. Mubashir Akram, a spokesman for the British-based charity Oxfam, said the local administration expects 6,000 to 8,000 families to be displaced due to the current operation in central Kurram. The need is far more than the capacity, he warned. The Tribal Region Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) says it has urgently requested tents, food, washing facilities and non-food items from aid agencies. Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the operation would clear the area of terrorists involved in all kinds of terrorist activities, including kidnapping and killing of locals, and suicide attacks. He also said it would endeavour to reopen the road between the mainly Shia upper Kurram and the mainly Sunni lower part. The operation has been launched on the great demand of local tribal leaders, Abbas told AFP. Sources said the security forces without any resistance from the militants cleared Manato, Domeki and Gawaki areas in the central Kurram from the militants. The forces launched the operation named Spin Ghar in order to evict the militants from the restive tribal area. Official sources said that operation goes on in Sangroba, Alisherzai and Murghan. The areas of Jawan, Tando, Wam, Malgai, Kundali and Zoki have been cleared by the security forces. In Pewar Tangi, three people died when a mortar shell hit a house. Two children were also among the dead. Two people sustained injuries in the incident.