Re: 5000 Pakistani tribesmen enlist to fight militants
Pak Army moves in as tribals drive out Chechen and Uzbek fighters.
Army deployed in Sheen Warsak
At least 25 more persons including Uzbeks and their local supporters were killed Friday in the continued clashes in Sheen Warsak of South Waziristan Agency. “The fighting is in progress which have claimed at least 25 more lives from both sides of the warring groups,” locals informed The Nation. The deceased also included three government loyal tribesmen, they further said and added the tribesmen also forced the remaining Uzbek militants to leave the area. Meanwhile, three more persons including brother of a pro-government tribal elder and his two other relatives were murdered and their houses were set on fire in Sheen Warsak, South Waziristan Agency. Besides killing the tribal elder Malik Sherin Jan’s brother, Fazl, the Uzbek militants slaughtered Niaz Muhammad and Latt. The tribal elder’s son and nephew were also injured in the attack while the militants set their houses in Dana village of Sheen Warsak. Malik Sherin Jan had led the traditional jirga during a meeting with Assistant Political Agent in Wana on Thursday and sought air and ground support of armed forces against the Uzbek militants. According to eyewitnesses, the Uzbek militants along with their local supporters besieged the houses of Malik Sherin and his relatives and opened firing at them. Malik Sherin has already shifted his family to Wana and only Fazl and two others were guarding the house at the time of the attack. During the operation, the house of Noor Islam, a supporter of the Uzbek militants, was also set on fire. The lashkar is getting stronger with every passing day and has intensified attacks against Uzbek militants.
AFP adds: Soldiers moved into Sheen Warsak cleared of foreign Al-Qaeda militants by tribal fighters, an official said, the first troop movement in the district since a peace agreement was signed with tribesmen in 2005. Troops entered the mountainous Sheen Warsak near Wana, the official said. “Army troops are now in Sheen Warsak to secure the area,” the security official told AFP. The government has denied its troops were involved in fighting that erupted last month as tribesmen, under an agreement with the authorities, took up arms to drive out mainly Uzbek and Chechen fighters.