More than 100,000 people uprooted by clashes in north-west Pakistan – UN

With more than 100,000 people driven from their homes by fighting in the north-western Pakistani region of Waziristan, the United Nations has continued to rush assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs).

According to authorities, over 128,000 uprooted people from Waziristan – which borders Afghanistan and is part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) – have been registered, while there are thousands more whose places of origin have yet to be verified.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Commissionerate on Afghan Refugees (CAR) this week visited the camp in Jalozai, south of Peshawar, to identify gaps in the areas of water and sanitation. The team also found there is a shortage of firewood for cooking.

In the Buner district of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) wrapped up its first rapid assessment of shelter and other needs in the village of Sultanwas.

Nearly one third of houses in the area were either totally or partially destroyed, with over 200 families – or more than 1,500 individuals – in need of shelter.

Since mid-August, UN-HABITAT has built 11 shelters in the village, with nearly 40 others under construction and 150 more are in the works.

In the first week of September, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has distributed almost 10,000 metric tons of food to some 644,000 people living in camps and in areas of return.

The agency will also begin distributing aid to more than 200,000 people in the Swat district this month.