Over 100,000 flee fighting in northwestern Pakistan: UNHCR
March 31st, 2012 - 12:05 am ICT by IANSGeneva, March 30 (IANS) An estimated 101,160 people, mostly women and children, have been displaced since Jan 20 when government troops began security operations against militant groups in Khyber Agency region in northwestern Pakistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Friday.
UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the recent increase in the intensity of the fighting was driving even larger numbers of families to flee the region to the Jalozai camp, where UNHCR is providing them with basic humanitarian supplies and the World Food Programme with food aid, reported Xinhua.
The vast majority choose to live outside the camp with host families.
UNHCR registered a total of 1,721 families or 7,054 individuals on Wednesday alone, the agency said, and the average since March 17 has been nearly 2,000 families each day.
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Tags: food aid, geneva, government troops, host families, humanitarian supplies, intensity, march 17, melissa fleming, militant groups, northwestern pakistan, security operations, spokeswoman, unhcr, united nations, united nations high commissioner, united nations high commissioner for refugees, world food programme, xinhua