Tribesmen hunt al Qaeda fighters

Tribesmen marched into the hills near the Afghan border on Sunday to try to flush out al Qaeda fighters and their local supporters after they refused to surrender.
Around 2,000 tribesmen, armed with assault rifles and other light weapons, set out on foot for Parvazaragh, 35km from Wana in South Waziristan, to hunt the foreign militants holed up in their territory.
They set ablaze a deserted mud-and-brick house, which was used by militants as their hideout, witnesses said.
"Militants fled from here last night," Malik Bakhan, a pro-government tribal elder, told Reuters.
"We will continue our hunt."
The government set a deadline of April 20 for tribal elders to hand over the al Qaeda fighters, thought to be Chechens, Arabs and Uzbeks, and the tribesmen sheltering them.
But elders failed late last week to persuade militants and their protectors to surrender peacefully.
"We have waited long enough. Now it is the time for action," said Bakhan, addressing a jirga, earlier on Sunday before the start of the operation.
Up to 6,000 armed tribesmen attended the jirga in Sholam, near Wana. Tribesmen waved weapons on beats of drums as the jirga announced the crackdown on militants.
"These people are bringing misery and trouble to our people," said Malik Khadim, another tribal elder. "If the wanted men are not arrested or killed, action will be taken against those tribes who fail to do their duty."
Tribesmen expect stiff resistance from the militants, who last month battled around 5,000 Pakistani troops for several days. More than 100 people died. No top militant was captured.
But on Sunday, pro-government tribesmen met no resistance and managed to seal some remote areas where al Qaeda militants and their local supporters are believed to be hiding, witnesses said.
Authorities, who govern the semi-autonomous tribal region by special laws, have put pressure on the tribes to help hunt down militants.
Witnesses in Wana saw several bands of tribal warriors moving out to other parts of South Waziristan in the hunt for militants.
The army has also sent more troops to Wana in recent days.