LaoSexMachine
08-05-2008, 02:38 PM
Taleban 'burn Pakistan schools'
Suspected pro-Taleban militants have burnt down three more girls' high schools in the Swat valley of north-west Pakistan, officials say.
Ten schools have been destroyed in the district in the last four days.
Nearly 70 state-run schools have been burnt down in the area in recent months, affecting over 17,000 students.
There has been no word from militant groups in relation to the latest arson attacks, but local militants group have admitted to such attacks in the past.
Correspondents say militant groups trying to enforce strict Islamic law want the schools to be shut down.
The area is now under a night curfew and no fresh incident of violence has been reported so far on Tuesday.
On Monday night, a girls' high school was set on fire in the Matta area which completely destroyed the library and classrooms.
This was followed by two other attacks on different schools in nearby Mingora and Kanju.
Truce collapse
Figures released by the Pakistani army on Monday said that at least 94 militants, 14 soldiers and around 28 civilians had been killed over the previous week.
The army says it compiled the militant casualty figures by constantly intercepting their radio messages.
The militants say only 10 of their fighters have died.
The military also said that it would soon launch an all-out offensive against militants in Swat, shattering a fragile deal between the two sides signed two months ago.
Both the militants and the military routinely accuse each other of exaggerating the others' level of casualties.
Correspondents says that the security situation in Swat has been steadily deteriorating since the breakdown last week of a peace agreement between the government and pro-Taleban cleric Maulana Fazlullah.
The Swat valley has been the scene of an insurgency by his followers since 2007. They want to enforce his version of Islamic Sharia law in the region.
The militants have accused the government of reneging on the terms of May's deal and have pledged to carry on fighting until all troops are withdrawn from the valley.
Mullah Fazlullah launched a campaign of violence last year, drawing the army into a conflict at a time when militants across north-west Pakistan had launched a wave of suicide attacks on security forces and leading politicians.
The Swat accord was part of the government's plan to end Islamist militancy through peace deals.
The strategy led to a dramatic drop in suicide bombings but critics say it has also allowed the Taleban to regroup.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7543559.stm
Suspected pro-Taleban militants have burnt down three more girls' high schools in the Swat valley of north-west Pakistan, officials say.
Ten schools have been destroyed in the district in the last four days.
Nearly 70 state-run schools have been burnt down in the area in recent months, affecting over 17,000 students.
There has been no word from militant groups in relation to the latest arson attacks, but local militants group have admitted to such attacks in the past.
Correspondents say militant groups trying to enforce strict Islamic law want the schools to be shut down.
The area is now under a night curfew and no fresh incident of violence has been reported so far on Tuesday.
On Monday night, a girls' high school was set on fire in the Matta area which completely destroyed the library and classrooms.
This was followed by two other attacks on different schools in nearby Mingora and Kanju.
Truce collapse
Figures released by the Pakistani army on Monday said that at least 94 militants, 14 soldiers and around 28 civilians had been killed over the previous week.
The army says it compiled the militant casualty figures by constantly intercepting their radio messages.
The militants say only 10 of their fighters have died.
The military also said that it would soon launch an all-out offensive against militants in Swat, shattering a fragile deal between the two sides signed two months ago.
Both the militants and the military routinely accuse each other of exaggerating the others' level of casualties.
Correspondents says that the security situation in Swat has been steadily deteriorating since the breakdown last week of a peace agreement between the government and pro-Taleban cleric Maulana Fazlullah.
The Swat valley has been the scene of an insurgency by his followers since 2007. They want to enforce his version of Islamic Sharia law in the region.
The militants have accused the government of reneging on the terms of May's deal and have pledged to carry on fighting until all troops are withdrawn from the valley.
Mullah Fazlullah launched a campaign of violence last year, drawing the army into a conflict at a time when militants across north-west Pakistan had launched a wave of suicide attacks on security forces and leading politicians.
The Swat accord was part of the government's plan to end Islamist militancy through peace deals.
The strategy led to a dramatic drop in suicide bombings but critics say it has also allowed the Taleban to regroup.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7543559.stm