Pakistan grapples with Swat exodus

About 1.5 million refugees have fled the Pakistani military's offensive against Taliban forces in the northwest of the country, officials say.The fighting has resulted in an exodus with a speed and size that could rival the displacement caused by Rwanda's genocide, the UN said.The humanitarian challenge comes as the military said its troops are fighting street battles against fighters in important towns in the Swat valley.Lieutenant-General Nadeem Ahmed, who leads a group dealing with the uprooted Pakistanis, said that the government had enough food for the displaced, but said it needed donations of fans and high energy biscuits.Mike Hanna, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad, said: "The staggering figure, in details released by the UN, shows that only about 2,000 people are actually in the refugee camps."Around 20 per cent of the Pakistani displaced are in about 24 camps at the moment, John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, said.Hanna said: "The rest are staying with family and with friends."This is obviously placing an immense amount of strain on the resources of the society as a whole increasing the magnitude of what is the biggest movement of people since the formation of Pakistan in 1947."