SWAT/PESHAWAR - Panicked residents streamed out of Swat district where gunfire rocked the main town Tuesday and a botched army evacuation order sparked fears that a peace deal could collapse. Spiralling insecurity jeopardised a three-month ceasefire on the eve of President Asif Ali Zardaris first meeting with US counterpart Barack Obama, amid Washingtons concerns that militants are threatening Pakistans existence. Meanwhile, NWFP Minister while talking to media here said that six more camps were needed to provide shelter to over 0.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Swat who have left their homes due to eruption of fresh violence there. He maintained that funds allocated for reconstruction and rehabilitation of October 8, 2005 earthquake-affected areas would be utilised to provide immediate relief to the IDPs. The situation is getting complicated and the people are fleeing their native towns to the safer places in adjacent districts, said Iftikhar at a press briefing at Media Centre of Information Department. The mass exoduses were from the volatile Swat valley, Upper and Lower Dir and Buner, he informed. He said four IDPs camps would be established on emergency basis in different districts including Mardan, Swabi and Nowshera. To provide shelter, food and medicines to the affected people in war zone and districts hosting IDPs, the provincial government has released Rs 5 million for every district. These districts are Swat, Upper and Lower Dir, Mardan, Swabi, Buner and Charsadda, he said. All District Coordination Officers concerned had been directed to mobilise local elders, union council nazims, volunteers, teachers and representatives of the local NGOs to help the IDPs on a war footing, he further said. The government has also directed the DCOs to keep liaison with the international donors agencies aimed to get the required fund, he maintained. He said that three counters in Swabi and four in Mardan would be set up at different places to solve IDPs problems at the earliest and to monitor them. All departments concerned had also been directed to facilitate the DCOs in the matters regarding the IDPs, he said, adding they were also directed to hold daily basis meeting to review the situation of IDPs. He said that Darul Qaza was established after the approval of Presidency. He ruled out the TNSM Chief Maulana Sufi Mohammads statement that he had been bypassed in the process of establishment of Darul Qaza. Meanwhile, ANP Provincial President Senator Afrasiab Khattak has formed two committees to provide relief to the IDPs of Swat and Buner on an emergency basis. While another committee of pro-ANP doctors association, Malgari Doctaran, has been established to provide medical facilities in IDPs camps. Agencies add: Bedraggled men, women in burqas and children piled on to pick-up trucks, and led animals through streets in their haste to flee Mingora, the main town of Swat, devastated by a two-year Taliban insurgency. The military ordered neighbourhoods on the edge of Mingora to evacuate and announced a break in an indefinite curfew for the displaced to flee - sparking fears of an imminent new offensive - as bullets rattled through parts of the town. In view of this situation in Swat, at least 500,000 people can migrate from that area. Camps are being established for them, North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told a news conference. They were in thousands, Hussain told AFP when asked how many people left Mingora Tuesday. He declined to give an exact figure but other officials suggested that they were not that many. Authorities are preparing six camps to accommodate those expected to flee the Swat Valley in the coming days, the Minister told a Press conference. He further said authorities were releasing emergency funds and preparing six new refugee camps to house them. Situation was getting complicated with the passage of time, he added. All districts are being provided with emergency help to take care of the displaced families, Iftikhar said, adding that the government was also setting up camps to settle the affected people. The Minister further said that counters were also in place to register the people. The military said that armed militants marched into Mingora and other areas threatening lives and accused them of a gross violation of the peace accord by firing at security force checkpoints and wounding four personnel. Local residents said large numbers were leaving in panic and on foot, weighed down by whatever belongings they could carry, waiting at bus stations or driving away in private cars, even though the military withdrew its order. We have now suspended this order and people are directed not to vacate their homes because the government has no immediate plan to launch an operation in these areas, said local military spokesman Major Nasir Khan. A government official said that five people died overnight in crossfire between militants and security forces in Swat, where a once-thriving tourist industry has been wrecked by the Taliban insurgency seeking to impose Sharia law. Officials said thousands of people live in Kambar, Rahimabad, Makan Bagh and Amankot, where residents were ordered to leave over the public address system. Kambar, located at the entry point of Mingora, is a major Taliban stronghold and is where militants last week refused to let a military convoy enter the city. The top government official in Swat, Khushal Khan Khattak, said militants had infiltrated five districts of Mingora and begun attacking security forces and government installations. He said security forces could soon attack the militants and urged people to get out of the way. But he later said the fear of fighting had passed and people could stay home, while the army said it was in control of the town. That did not reassure the people cramming into and on top of buses to get out of Mingora. Im taking my family to Peshawar because if theres any fighting, no one can protect us, said Mohammad Karim, as he searched for a bus heading out of the valley to Peshawar. Some residents estimated thousands were fleeing. Residents of Mingora said earlier militants had surrounded a paramilitary force base at a power station in the town and others had taken up positions on buildings and were patrolling streets. The military said in a statement security forces had beaten back an attack on the camp but a senior military official in the region said an operation might be launched to rescue 46 paramilitary soldiers besieged there. Were acting with restraint because theyre using civilians as a shield but well go after them if the situation gets worse, said the military official, who declined to be identified. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said the Taliban were in control of 90 per cent of the valley and said their actions were in response to Army violations of the peace deal such as attacking insurgents and boosting troop numbers in the region. He accused the government of acting under pressure from the US. Everything will be OK once our rulers stop bowing before America, he told an American news agency by cell phone, adding the peace deal had been dead since the operation in Buner. Khushal Khan said authorities were lifting the curfew, so people could leave Mingora, and a camp had been set up for the displaced in the nearby town of Dargai. Hundreds were leaving the city, according to reports. We are leaving the area to save our lives, said Sayed Iqbal, a 35-year-old cloth merchant who was putting household goods in a pickup truck already loaded with his elderly parents, wife and two children. The government has announced people should leave the area. What is there left to say? Meanwhile, at least 18 persons, including civilians and militants, have been killed and more than 16 others injured in various clashes in different parts of Swat valley, official sources disclosed on Tuesday. According to the sources, intense firing took place between the militants and the security forces in Khwazakhila, Mingora, Kanajo and Gul Kada areas. The security forces targeted the militants suspected hideouts with gunship helicopters and artillery guns. As a result of the clashes, two persons were killed in Qambar, two in Kanjo and 14 in Mingora. Around 16 persons were injured in the incidents. The armed men reportedly also kidnapped a person, identified as Jamroz Khan, from Kokari area. Moreover, militants also attacked the Commissioners House, DIG Office, Nazim Office and residence of Wali-e-Swat. District Coordination Officer has already asked the dwellers to vacate their houses as soon as possible and so far 40,000 people have migrated form Swat. Meanwhile, curfew also remained imposed in Mingora, Qambar and Khwazakhila areas. The local residents had to face a lot of troubles because of the curfew. Due to uncertain situation, the examinations of FA/FSC have been postponed for an indefinite period. The militants looted a store of World Food Programme at Gulabad and took away 217 bags of wheat and 400 tins of Ghee. Meanwhile, an abandoned police station at Rahimabad was blown up by the militants, it added. Monitoring Desk adds: Talking to a private TV channel on Tuesday, NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar said the promulgation of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation in Malakand Division was aimed at restoring peace in the area. He said, The government will implement the NAR-2009 whether anybody accepts it or not. The information Minister said the ANP government had waged a 'Jihad against Talibanisation. He warned the militants to lay down their arms, otherwise the government would use the second option to establish its writ in the area. He said every step would be taken to ensure peace in the region, and the step of laying down arms by militants could avoid a massive operation. To a question, he said Darul Qaza was set up after the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari. He dispelled the impression that Sufi Muhammad was not consulted before setting up of Darul Qaza and appointments of Qazis. On the other side, as the residents were fleeing the towns of Swat fearing that the peace deal with TNSM appeared on the verge of collapse, militants also captured the offices of commissioner Malakand, DCO Swat and other officials of civil administration in Mingora city, while their attempt to overpower Saidu Sharif police station was thwarted by law enforcement agencies. Several policemen were reportedly injured in militants ambush on the police station.