More than 200,000 people have fled recent, intensified fighting in tribal zones near Afghanistan that serve as Taliban sanctuaries, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday.
"Despite the efforts of local authorities and NGOs, these displaced people are in urgent need of basic necessities such as food, clean water and shelter," said Pascal Cuttat, head of the ICRC's Pakistan operations. The Red Cross has launched a relief operation to help some 64,000 of those displaced - most of them women and children who have fled the restless Bajaur region and sought refuge in relatively safer areas - on both sides of the border. "Lack of medical care is a problem for sick people, particularly children," he said.