Thousands injured in Kashmiri street battles

SRINAGAR: More than 40 days of clashes between protesters and security forces have flooded the main hospital in Indian-administered Kashmir with casualties, some of whom say their severe injuries were inflicted by soldiers who beat them in their homes.

House-to-house searches continued yesterday for suspected ringleaders of street protests sparked by the killing on July 8 of a popular field commander of a separatist group based in Pakistan.

At least 65 people have been killed and 6 000 injured in the ensuing clashes. Many of them have been wounded by security forces opening fire to enforce a curfew across the Muslim-majority region.

The Indian army has acknowledged, and apologised for, the death of a college lecturer in a beating.

At Srinagar’s main SMHS Hospital, doctors were exhausted, with one saying they had performed more eye operations in the past month than in the past three years.

“We have few beds and staff. We are in physical and mental stress,” said Nisarul Hassan, a senior medical consultant.

An army officer, Lieutenant-General SK Dua, said yesterday: “Militants are hiding behind the stone pelters, trying to provoke security forces into firing at them, but we are exercising restraint to avoid civilian casualties.” – Reuters