The firm action being taken by the militaries of Pakistan and Sri Lanka against the Taliban and the remnants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealem (LTTE) respectively over the last week, though deemed to be purely "internal national security issues", have resulted in the biggest humanitarian crisis since the East Pakistan exodus of millions of refugees in early 1971.

Almost three quarters of a million people are affected. About 500,000 are fleeing the Swat Valley in Pakistan while more than 200,000 Tamil refugees are trying to seek safety in the most impoverished clusters set up by the Colombo government.