Thousands Fleeing War Zone in Pakistan

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes in the Swat Valley in the northwestern part of Pakistan.

The ramshackle convoys were rolling up hours later at a string of camps set up by Pakistani authorities and the U.N. in the city of Mardan and neighboring towns. Hospitals in Mardan treated dozens of civilians with serious gunshot and shrapnel wounds, children among them.

At the Tuberculosis Hospital in Mardan, hundreds of the displaced jostled before desks manned by hard-pressed volunteers to register for a tent and a handout of emergency supplies.

Yar Mohammad, a 50-year-old stone mason, told an Associated Press reporter that he had "poured his blood" and his best years into the development of Swat, once a haven for tourists drawn to its Alpine-like scenery.

"Now I am seeing the buildings that I have helped to construct being blown up and destroyed," he said, blaming both the Taliban and the authorities.