Miran Shah, Pakistan ? Hundreds of people lugging bags and bundles of clothes fled a remote town after pro-Taliban tribesmen and foreign militants battled security forces in northwestern Pakistan, leaving at least 53 people dead in the worst clashes in the lawless region in two years.

The unrest came amid mounting anger over military attacks against al-Qaida and Taliban remnants, who have been sheltered by heavily armed tribes that have long resisted the government’s control.

Fighting started Saturday and died down early Sunday in the North Waziristan region, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said.

Sporadic firing broke out Sunday afternoon in the town of Miran Shah, the main hotspot of the unrest. But the fighters retreated from government buildings they had occupied Saturday and soldiers controlled the town again, Sultan said.

The foreign fighters were coming from neighboring Afghanistan and would be “confronted and eliminated,” Sultan said.

He added that a breakdown of how many were foreigners – who often cross the porous border – versus tribesmen wasn’t immediately available.

Pakistani tribesmen look at the rubble of destroyed shops caused by fighting between pro-Taliban militants and security forces at the main bazaar of Miran Shah in Pakistan's North Waziristan region. The fierce clashes that erupted Saturday caused hundreds of residents to flee the area and left at least 53 people dead. Security forces regained control on Sunday.

The clashes were the worst since 2004 when scores of militants, troops and local fighters died during similar unrest in the neighboring South Waziristan region and further underscored Islamabad’s failure to assert governmental control in the rugged region.

The weekend violence erupted just three days after the army attacked a suspected al-Qaida camp in the village of Saidgi near the Afghan border. Military officials said 45 people, including foreign militants, were killed in the attack.

But the tribesmen – who sympathize with the militants – claim local people died, and the operation whipped up more anti-government anger in the volatile area.

A U.S. missile strike on a village in Pakistan earlier this year that killed a relative of al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri and a terror suspect, along with 13 residents, also drew outrage.

Many Pakistanis complained that the Jan. 13 attack on Bajur violated the nation’s sovereignty.

Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terror, has deployed about 80,000 security forces along the Afghan frontier to try to assert control but says it does not allow U.S. forces to cross the border in pursuit of Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.