New York, July 15: Refugees from Swat valley, displaced by conflict between the Taliban militants and the Pakistani forces in the restive north-west region of the country have started returning home, the UN has said.
While 800 internally displaced people returned to the Swat Valley yesterday, another 5,200 people were scheduled to return home today, the UN spokesman, Michele Montas told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.
“Yesterday”s returnees left Jalozai camp, which is managed by the UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), together with its partners and provincial authorities, in 20 buses and trucks to go back to Swat,” she said. Returnees told UNHCR that they felt safe going back to their villages after contacting neighbors who had already safely returned on their own.
“Returnees mentioned the unbearable heat in the camp as one of their main reasons they registered to go back. They said many of their children fell sick and contracted skin diseases because of the heat,” she said.
Other internally displaced people (IDPs) reported they were not yet ready to return, citing security concerns in various areas of Swat, Montas said. Over 2 million people have been displaced since early May.
While 260,000 people are staying in 21 camps, the vast majority of the displaced are accommodated with host families, rent houses or are in school buildings. .
-Agencies