Dozens of people, including many civilians, have died over the weekend in fighting between security forces and Islamic militants in north-west Pakistan, officials said on Sunday, according to dpa. The fierce clashes took place in various areas of the restive district of Swat, which is located in North Western Frontier Province (NWFP), and hardly 100 kilometres from country's capital, Islamabad. Government forces targeted several militant positions with artillery in Charbagh area, one of the strongholds of insurgents loyal to local radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah, who started an armed struggle in 2007 to impose Taliban-style rule in the mountain district. "Sixteen militants were killed in fighting during the last 24 hours," a military spokesman in Swat said over the telephone. The spokesman said troops had consolidated their positions in Charbagh after inflicting heavy casualties on the insurgents. Skirmishes also occurred in several other villages. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded in a gunfight with the militants in Ali Grama, while a police constable was slain by the rebels in Rahimabad, according to the spokesman. More than 35 civilians, including women and children, died when stray mortar shells hit residential areas in Swat, said an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We are receiving reports here that the locals are fleeing their houses, leaving bodies behind them," he added, refusing to explain whether the fire was from the military or the rebels. Urdu language Geo news channel reported that at least 20 bodies were lying in the fields near Charbagh. Unknown persons opened fire on the ambulance heading to collect the bodies, leaving two medical staff members dead and one injured, the report added. Pakistan's top security official, Rehman Malik, said a few days ago that around 1,200 civilians have died during the crossfire between the insurgents and government forces in the clashes since late 2007, along with dozens of troops and Taliban members. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled to safer area in NWFP and the rest of Pakistan. Pakistani soldiers began a new phase of operations in the district earlier this week after Fazlullah's followers imposed a complete ban on female education in Swat. They have also burned more than 170 girls' schools, destroyed shops selling music and movie CDs, prohibited barbers from shaving men and established parallel Islamic courts. Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited Swat on Wednesday and said the security forces had both the will and resolve to establish the government's writ in the region. "No amount of sacrifice will deter us to do our duty," Kayani told the troops.
