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Pakistan

Pakistan: ICRC enters Buner for first time since onset of hostilities

Peshawar (ICRC) - As fighting in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) continues unabated, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today entered Buner, one of hardest-hit areas, for the first time since the onset of hostilities.

With the consent of the parties to the conflict, ICRC staff took stock of the humanitarian situation and delivered medicines and surgical materials to the main hospital in the district.

"We went into Buner as soon as we could," said Dr Bart Janssens, the ICRC's health coordinator in Pakistan, who led the operation. "You can see the scars of recent fighting. There is no more electricity or clean drinking water. Most shops are closed. Goods on the market are scarce. The streets feel empty. The district is rapidly being emptied of its inhabitants."

In the coming days the ICRC hopes to bring more aid to the civilian population left behind. Its ability to do so, however, will depend on security guarantees being provided by all the parties to the conflict.

Over 500,000 people have fled conflict areas in the NWFP in recent days. The ICRC is working closely with the Pakistan Red Crescent Society to provide shelter, food, water, sanitation and health care for displaced people (IDPs) in the Malakand and Swabi districts. The ICRC is also attending to the needs of people left behind in Buner, Swat and Lower Dir.

For further information, please contact:

Simon Schorno, ICRC Peshawar (English/French/Italian), tel: +92 302 850 8238

Sébastien Brack, ICRC Islamabad (English/French), tel: +92 300 8508138

Sitara Jabeen, ICRC Islamabad (Urdu), tel: +92 300 850 56 93

Dorothea Krimitsas, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 7 30 2590 or +41 79 251 9318