The United Nations is considering asking Pakistan to pause its military offensive against Taliban insurgents in the country's northwest in order to provide aid to hundreds of thousands trapped by the conflict, a top U.N. official says.

Pakistan's offensive against militants in the Swat valley and neighbouring regions began earlier this month, triggering the country's largest ever displacement of civilians, with nearly 1.7 million people fleeing their homes.

But hundreds of thousands are trapped in towns and villages in North West Frontier Province where aid workers say air bombardments by the military and landmines planted by the Taliban have forced people to remain in their homes with little food and water, and no power, communications or medicines.

"We are, of course, very concerned about those that are still trapped inside the conflict zone," Manuel Bessler, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Pakistan, told AlertNet in an interview.

"A humanitarian pause is a subject of discussion and with the very good liaison we have with the armed forces, it is obviously something that we would not shy away from asking for."

Aid workers say time is running out for 200,000 residents trapped in the district of Swat as well as tens of thousands in neighbouring Buner and Lower Dir.

Food supplies are low, there is no clean water and, in some areas, people with medical problems such as cardiac patients, diabetics and pregnant women with complications have no medicines or access to health care.

There are also reports that the Taliban have planted landmines in Mingora, the main town in Swat, and are using civilians as human shields.

Aid workers say there have been civilian casualties in the fighting, and some relief groups are calling for a humanitarian pause to allow in supplies and evacuate vulnerable groups such as the sick, elderly and war-wounded.

SECURITY CONCERNS

Some areas of the conflict zone have been cleared of insurgents, and relief agencies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and Pakistan Red Crescent Society have resumed work in southern Lower Dir and Buner.

But Bessler said that while Pakistani authorities are granting access to the conflict area, the United Nations' own internal security division does not have enough information to give staff the green light to work inside the war zone.

"The security situation is so fragile and if something happens to one of our workers, or one of the workers from another agency, this will have an impact on the whole operation and we will be forced to withdraw or suspend our activities," he said.

"We cannot afford to risk this, given the magnitude of the large scale of people who depend 100 percent on us."

Authorities have relaxed curfews several times to allow hundreds of thousands to leave the conflict area, but many remain - either too old or sick to make the trek through the mountains to safer areas or too poor to afford transportation.

Others have chosen to stay behind to protect their properties and harvest their wheat and tobacco crops which account for their annual income.

Bessler said in the absence of aid organisations, the Pakistani army had begun distributing food and was providing medical assistance.

"For sure, it is not enough. For sure, more needs to be done," he said. "We would consider requesting a humanitarian pause but what we need is the minimum level of security in order to assess the situation and assist the civilian populations inside the conflict zone."

Click here to read AlertNet's Q&A with Manuel Bessler.

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