May 13, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 7, 1429

KABUL, May 12: Up to 6,000 people have fled their homes in a southern Afghanistan district fearing Nato strikes amid a large-scale operation against Taliban militants, an official said on Monday.

The mass exodus from Garmser, a remote district in troubled Helmand province, comes as Nato-led troops hunt Taliban militants and their allies in an operation that kicked off two weeks ago.

“Around 900 families, counting for about 5,000 to 6,000 people, have left the area,” refugees ministry spokesman Shamsuddin Sarhadi said.

The displaced families were being put up in a government-run camp in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand which is 50 kilometres from the district centre Garmser, he said.

The military operation launched on April 28 is being led by US Marines and British military. The soldiers are searching compounds and trying to root out militants, destroy weapons caches and take positions held by the rebels.

There have been some clashes and air strikes, and military forces say they have killed “several” rebels although they have not released figures.—AFP