Pakistan: Displaced suffer as winter sets in

Thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from conflict-hit areas in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) have been experiencing increased hardship as temperatures drop to freezing in many northern regions, IDPs have told IRIN. "It is very hard to manage now that it is so cold. We sleep on an open veranda at our host's home because he has only two rooms indoors and these are occupied by his own family of 10," said Waris Mehsud, aged 35. He was displaced from South Waziristan in November when the government's military operation against militants intensified. He now lives with relatives in Dera Ismail Khan town, NWFP. "Two of my four young children are sick with high fever and bad colds and it is hard to keep them warm at night," he said. An acting UN Refugee Agency spokesperson told IRIN last week that up to "900,000 people could still be displaced, most of whom remain with host families". Estimating the number of IDPs outside camps has been hard as many of them move between their homes in conflict zones and their hosts in other areas, the spokesperson said.