Pakistan's army says its forces have killed more than 140 Taliban militants during the last 24 hours in Swat valley. Several troops have also been reported killed. Thousands of people continue to flee the clashes, joining hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis already displaced by fighting in the violent northwest.
巴基斯坦政府军说，他们24小时以来已在斯瓦特山谷击毙了140多个塔利班激进分子。据报导，也牺牲了几名军人。数以千计的民众不断逃离这场冲突，他们与成千上万由于西北部战乱已经流离失所的巴基斯坦人会合在一起。
Nearly two weeks after Pakistani security forces began attacking Taliban positions in the northwest Malakand region, the army says troops are now focusing on the estimated 4,000 core fighters entrenched in the militant stronghold Swat valley.
巴基斯坦安全部队向西北部马拉坎地区的塔利班阵地发动攻势已经有近两个星期了，军方说，他们的部队目前把矛头针对估计为四千人左右的核心战斗人员，这些人都盘踞在斯瓦特山谷的激进分子据点内。
Operations target militant training camps
Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas says recent operations have targeted militant training camps and ammunition dumps, killing more than 100 Taliban fighters, including some top commanders.
军方发言人阿巴斯少将说，最近战役的目标指向激进分子训练营和堆放弹药的地方，他们击毙了100多名塔利班武装分子，其中包括一些高级指挥员。
"On the directive of the government, the army is now in full scale operation to eliminate, militants, miscreants and anti-state elements from Swat," Abbas said. "They are on the run and trying to block the exodus of civilians from the area."
阿巴斯少将说：“政府军遵行政府的指令目前正全面开战，以歼灭斯瓦特山谷的激进分子、歹徒和反政府分子。这些人正在逃窜，并且企图阻挡平民离开这一地区。”
Aid workers concerned about Swat residents
Aid workers have expressed concern that Swat residents and other civilians fleeing ongoing operations in nearby Buner and Dir districts have been unable to escape the heavy fighting.
救援人员已表示非常担心，斯瓦特山谷居民和附近布内尔市及迪尔地区的其他平民无法逃离激烈的战火。
Pakistan's military says about 64,000 people have registered at more than 10 formal camps and hospitals set up for the fleeing civilians. But the United Nations refugee agency said Friday that figure misses the tens of thousands of people who stay with friends and relatives. U.N. officials estimated up to 200,000 people may have already fled the fighting and perhaps 300,000 more could leave in the coming days. They will join an estimated half million people who fled their homes in the past year and still have not returned.
巴基斯坦军方说，约有六万四千人已经前来登记，并已经为这些逃难的民众设立了十多个正式营地和医院。但是联合国难民机构星期五说，这一数据没有把成千上万投靠亲友的民众计算在内。联合国估计，逃离战区的人可能已多达二十万，而且今后几天也许还会另有三十万人逃离战难，这些人将与在过去一年内离乡背井、并尚未回乡的五十万人会合。
U.N. workers say they are looking for new sites to build camps for the many more expected arrivals.
联合国工作人员说，他们正在寻找可设立营地的新地方，以便收容预计将继续逃来的大批难民。
PM calls on nation to unite against Taliban
During a late-night televised speech Thursday, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani called on the nation to unite against the Taliban, pledging that the military will not quit until the Swat militants are eliminated from the region. The announcement came as President Asif Zardari met with top U.S. officials in Washington to discuss plans for billions of dollars in aid aimed at countering the Taliban.
巴基斯坦总理吉拉尼星期四在深夜电视讲话中号召全国团结一致打击塔利班。他承诺，政府军要直到斯瓦特山谷内的激进分子被彻底铲除之后，才会收兵。这项声明是在扎尔达里于华盛顿会见美国官员的时刻发表的，扎尔达里和美国官员在讨论如何把几十亿美元的援金用在打击塔利班的行动上。
Two previous military offensives in the last two years against the Swat Taliban failed to push them from the valley, and after each time the militants returned even stronger. General Abbas says that will not happen again.
过去两年来，巴基斯坦军方向斯瓦特山谷的塔利班集团发动了两次进攻，但是并没有把塔利班赶出斯瓦特山谷，每一次进攻行动后，塔利班又卷土重来，而且气焰更为嚣张。阿巴斯少将说，这种情况决不能重演。
"For sure the military will not only clear and secure the area, but ensure unless and until the area is taken over completely by the civil administration, and the writ of the government is restored and peace and normalcy return to the area, the military will remain in the area," he said.
他说：“军方这次一定不仅会清除并稳定该地区，而且还会一直留守在当地，直到确保该地区完全在文官政府控制下，政府重新掌权，而且该地区重返和平与正常状况之后，军队才会撤离。”
The army says up to 15,000 troops in Swat are moving slowly to minimize the collateral damage that helped doom previous operations. But while the military releases daily updates for soldier and Taliban casualties, it has not released such figures for civilians. General Abbas also says the military has forces deployed throughout the northwest in case there is a backlash against the offensive.
巴基斯坦军方说，在斯瓦特山谷有多达1万5千人的部队，他们正缓慢推进以尽量减少战事造成破坏的副作用，这些副作用曾导致前两次进攻的失败。然而尽管军方每天发布士兵和塔利班人员伤亡的报告，但是他们却没有公布平民伤亡人数。阿巴斯少将还说，巴基斯坦军队也部署在整个西北地区，以防备这次攻势引发敌方反扑。 |