Refugees return to Swat Valley homes
|
Refugees can return to their homes after being told the Taliban have been beaten in Pakistan's Swat Valley.
Around 2 million people who were displaced by the fighting between Pakistani forces and the Taliban have now been told they can return home.
Most of the refugees have been living with family or friends in 'host communities', but about 280,000 have been living in hot and dusty tented camps.
The Swat exodus was one of the biggest human migrations of recent times, stretching Pakistan's resources to breaking point and prompting a global appeal for humanitarian help.
Tahir Orakzai, leader of the Jalozai camp in the hotter lowlands of the Swat Valley, said: 'They have been living in hell here.
'They're not used to such weather. They're desperate to return.'
Pakistan says around 1,700 militants were killed. However, no major insurgent leaders have lost their lives and it is feared the Taliban's presence in the area could return.
© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.