World May. 15, 2009 - 06:18AM JST ( 7 )

PESHAWAR —

More than 834,000 civilians have fled a relentless military assault on Taliban holed up in Pakistan’s rugged northwest, where artillery pounded rebel bastions Thursday in fierce battles.

War-weary civilians poured into camps and a further influx was expected Friday as the government announced a curfew would be relaxed in parts of Swat from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. to allow people to flee the escalating offensive.

Pakistan vowed success in the 19-day campaign to rid the scenic Swat valley and surrounding areas of Islamist fighters, who have waged a brutal insurgency to impose sharia law and expand their control in the nuclear-armed country.

“The ongoing operation in Swat will be successful… The army is fighting in Swat to secure a better future for Pakistan,” Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told parliament.

More than than 500,000 people who fled fighting last year, with Pakistan facing a crisis of more than 1.3 million displaced people.

“Some 834,000 IDPs (internally displaced persons) have been registered so far. This is a massive, massive displacement in the world today,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.

Artillery batteries shelled suspected hideouts in Swat and the neighboring district of Lower Dir, with the military claiming to have killed around 124 militants in the last 24 hours. Nine soldiers have been killed, they said.

Based on combined military tolls, more than 870 militants and 42 troops have been killed during operations in Lower Dir, Buner and Swat, although there is no independent confirmation of the figures and no word on civilian casualties.

Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani toured the frontlines in Swat, his first reported visit to the area since the bombardment began.

Residents trapped in Swat’s main city of Mingora fear a deadly battle for the town looms, saying that armed Taliban have mined roads and dug trenches around up to 200,000 civilians encircled by Pakistani troops.

The military has reported “heavy fighting” in the valley’s northern mountains at Peochar, the suspected stronghold of firebrand Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah, where airborne commandos this week opened a new front.

Fighter jets bombed caves and other hideouts overnight at Peochar, where security forces say they have taken hold despite pockets of resistance.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it entered Buner, one of the hardest hit areas, for the first time since fighting broke out to deliver medicines and surgical materials.

“You can see the scars of recent fighting,” said Bart Janssens, the ICRC’s health coordinator in Pakistan.

“There is no more electricity or clean drinking water. Most shops are closed. Goods on the market are scarce. The streets feel empty.”

The military launched an offensive on April 26 after armed Taliban advanced to within 100 kilometers of Islamabad from Swat, once a picturesque mountain valley frequented by Westerners and now a hub of extremist violence.

The military says up to 15,000 troops are taking on about 4,000 well-armed fighters in Swat, where Islamabad has ordered a battle to “eliminate” Islamist militants, branded by Washington the greatest terror threat to the West.

Holding talks in London en route back to Pakistan after a summit in Washington, President Asif Ali Zardari said he had asked for “ownership” of U.S. drones carrying out attacks on its territory.

Pakistan has voiced strong opposition to the drone attacks, more than 40 of which have killed over 390 people since August 2008.

The United States has taken the unprecedented step of sharing with Islamabad surveillance data collected by drones flying over Pakistan, the top U.S. military officer Admiral Mike Mullen said on Thursday.

Wire reports