Pakistan tells Afghan refugees to quit battle zone

By Sahibzada Bahauddin

KHAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities have begun expelling Afghan refugees from a tribal region that has become the main battleground between troops and fighters linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda, officials said on Monday.

"They have to go. There will be no concession," Safirullah Wazir, the government's top administrator in Bajaur, told Reuters.

"We have reports of their links with militants and their involvement in terrorist activities."

Troops, backed by fighter planes and helicopter gunships, have killed more than 1,000 fighters in the Bajaur region since early August.

A Pakistani general last month described Bajaur as a new "centre of gravity" for militancy and said that if the security forces prevailed two-thirds of the militant problem in the region could be eradicated.

Afghan refugees were ordered last Thursday to leave the area within days or face a crackdown.

Around 200 Afghans from 30 families had left so far, but Wazir said 30,000 remained in the region.

Residents said those leaving were mainly choosing to move to neighbouring tribal regions rather than return to Afghanistan.