Afghans flee shelling from Pakistan

A barrage of cross-border artillery and rocket attacks from Pakistan have forced thousands of Afghan villagers to flee their homes, witnesses and officials in Afghanistan said yesterday.
The shelling was reported in eastern Kunar province after Pakistan accused Afghanistan of giving safe haven to militants who infiltrated the border to kill 13 Pakistani soldiers.
Afghanistan and Pakistan typically blame each other for Taliban violence plaguing both sides of their porous border.
"More than 500 families have been displaced in two districts of Dangam and Nari due to continued Pakistani rocket shelling in the past two weeks," said Wasefullah Wasef, a spokesman for the provincial government in Kunar.
Afghan families are large and typically number seven to 10 people.
"The shelling has intensified after the recent incident in which some Pakistani soldiers were killed by Taliban militants," Wasef told AFP.
Wasef said officials "believe" the rockets were fired by Pakistani troops, who are operating along the border against homegrown Islamist insurgents.
The Pakistani military was not immediately reachable for comment.