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Swat residents urged to evacuate Swat residents 'flee their homes'
(about 4 hours later)
A senior Pakistani official has urged residents to evacuate the troubled Swat valley in the north-west. Resident's of Pakistan's Swat Valley are reported to be fleeing their homes despite authorities rescinding an earlier order for them to leave.
Head of local administration Khushal Khan said the authorities were lifting a curfew so that people could leave areas near the main town of Mingora. A peace deal between the government and Taleban militants in the region appears close to collapse after the army said militants attacked police checkpoints.
Earlier this year, Taleban militants operating in the Swat region agreed a peace deal with the government. There has also been heavy fighting to the west and east of Swat.
A BBC correspondent in Islamabad says the latest moves indicate the army is preparing an assault on Swat militants. A major army operation against the Taleban appears likely within a few days, says the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan.
In recent weeks the Taleban have expanded their operations into neighbouring areas, putting the peace agreement under intense pressure. Our Islamabad correspondent says the army appears to be in an uncompromising mood as the renewed violence appears to be the death knell for the peace deal, which has held since February.
Curfew relaxed name="story"> class="bodl" href="#map">See a map of the region
Residents of Qamber, Amankot, Makanbagh and Rahimabad, all areas adjoining Mingora, will be accommodated in a relief camp set up by the authorities in the neighbouring district of Mardan, Mr Khan said. In other violence, a suicide bomber killed four security personnel near Peshawar, North West Frontier Province.
A curfew which is currently in place has been relaxed between 1330 and 1900 local time (0730-1300 GMT) to allow to people to leave their homes. Police said the attacker rammed an explosive-laden car into a military vehicle.
Mr Khan added that residents were being asked to leave for their own safety as the Taleban had increased patrols in those areas and set up entrenched positions. It is not yet known who is behind the attack, but Taleban militants are known to be active in the province.
The militants fought the army in the region from August 2007 until this year's deal. Patrols
Pakistani Information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the government was preparing six camps to cater for up to 500,000 people fleeing fighting in the region, AP news agency reported.
A Pakistani military spokesman, Major general Athar Abbas, told the BBC the Taleban had violated all the norms of the peace deal in Swat Valley.
He said the Taleban had sent out armed patrols and had gone into the neighbouring Dir and Buner districts.
The army says militants attacked checkpoints and bases in four different locations in Swat, and that armed militants are openly patrolling the streets of the district's main city Mingora.
Khushal Khan, district co-ordination officer in Swat, told the BBC that residents of areas around Mingora had been told to evacuate because there was a fear that the Taleban could use heavy weapons to attack security forces.
But he said the order was later rescinded when the attacks no longer seemed likely.
However, reports say residents are fleeing in their hundreds anyway, taking advantage of the government's lifting of a curfew.
Militants fought the army in the region from August 2007 until this year's deal.
Under the deal the Taleban were expected to disarm.Under the deal the Taleban were expected to disarm.
The Taleban say they will not lay down their arms until Islamic Sharia law is fully implemented in Swat.The Taleban say they will not lay down their arms until Islamic Sharia law is fully implemented in Swat.
They have banned the playing of music in cars and are also using mosques to invite local youth to join them.They have banned the playing of music in cars and are also using mosques to invite local youth to join them.
They have also started regular patrols in the district.They have also started regular patrols in the district.
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