UN scales up aid to Pakistan's Kurram region

The U.N. refugee agency says it is ramping up its aid operation for people fleeing fighting in Pakistan's northwest tribal region of Kurram, according to AP. A spokesman for the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says some 84,000 people are believed to have fled their homes amid a military operation against insurgents in Kurram. Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that UNHCR is providing tents and emergency supplies to local authorities. He says camp planners are being sent to help prepare for new arrivals at the New Durrani camp located 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the conflict zone. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced across Pakistan because of simmering conflicts between the central government and local tribal groups.