Civilian protesters fight with govt forces near army garrison in Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India: Crowds of civilian protesters fought with government forces yesterday near an army garrison in Indian-administered Kashmir where militants earlier killed three soldiers.
Police fired tear gas and live bullets into the air to try to break up the demonstrations after what one officer called ‘intense clashes’.
The violence followed a predawn assault on the garrison in Kupwara district, near the de-facto border known as the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Army spokesman Rajesh Kalia said two attackers had been killed and search operations were in progress to see if there were any more still in the area.
Police said paramilitary reinforcements were being sent to the area, where demonstrators shouted slogans such as “We want freedom, and “Go India, go back”.
Incidences of civilian unrest following army operations against militants in Indian Kashmir have been rising, in what many analysts see as a sign of growing resentment in the disputed region.
Roughly 500,000 Indian soldiers are deployed in Kashmir, which has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947.
Both claim the territory in its entirety. — AFP