Tuesday, March 22 2005 15:29 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Sui (Baluchistan): A local commander warned today (Mar 22, 2005) that a "major crisis" could be brewing in a restive Pakistani town where thousands of armed tribesmen have surrounded a military base following clashes last week that reportedly left dozens killed.

Brig Salim Nawaz showed video images of what he said were tribesmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles ringing the base in Dera Bugti, in Pakistan's south-western Baluchistan province. A local official told agencies that around 5,000 tribesmen have taken up positions on mountains surrounding the town, some setting up roadblocks and digging trenches.

"The Dera Bugti area is cut off," Nawaz told journalists. "The situation needs to be controlled ASAP (as soon as possible). People need to leave that area so that a major crisis is averted."

Pakistan's Government organized the trip as a chance for reporters and lawmakers to get a look at what is happening in the region, where tribesmen have been angered by a dispute over royalty rights for natural gas extracted from the area, and by Government plans to set up a new military garrison.

They also are enraged by the rape of a female doctor in the area, allegedly by members of the military, and by what they say is the Government's failure to arrest the suspects.

Nawaz said that his Frontier Corps troops have the power to fight off the tribesmen, but are hoping to avoid such a confrontation. "We will use force only as a last resort," he said from Sui, a town 60 kilometers (40 miles) east of Dera Bugti that is the location of key natural gas installations.