Five civilians killed as violence returns to Indian Kashmir
Government troops killed five rebels yesterday in Indian Kashmir as a second day of protests against the country left five civilians dead and dozens injured.
Hundreds of villagers threw rocks at Indian troops to try to help militants trapped in a house in the southern Shopian area, police said. Officers and soldiers cordoned off the village on intelligence that a group were hiding there.
As police and the rebels fought it out, government troops fired bullets, shotgun pellets and tear gas at protesters trying to reach the battle site. Five civilians were killed, including a teenage boy, and another 50 were wounded.
After hours of fighting, five militants were killed and a policeman and a soldier wounded, said S P Vaid, director general of Jammu and Kashmir police. Among the dead were a rebel commander and a university assistant professor who formally joined the militant ranks just two days before.
A statement by the University of Kashmir on Saturday said the sociology teacher, Mohammed Rafi Bhat, had been missing since Friday.
Mr Vaid said troops repeatedly called on the militants to surrender.
“We made every effort so that they could surrender. We even brought the university teacher’s father all the way to Shopian, but they refused,” he said.
It was the second straight day of violence in the region, of which India and Pakistan administer parts but both claim the territory in its entirety.
Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since 1989, demanding Indian-controlled Kashmir is made part of Pakistan, or an independent country. Most Kashmiris support the rebels and take part in civilian protests against Indian control.
In recent years, mainly young Kashmiris have displayed open solidarity with rebels and sought to protect them by engaging troops in street clashes. Last year, at least 29 civilians were killed and hundreds were wounded.
On Saturday, Indian troops killed three rebels during a gun battle in Srinagar, while a civilian was killed when a police armoured vehicle ran over him during clashes with government soldiers. Another three men were killed in shootings the police blamed on rebels.
Businesses were closed in most parts of Kashmir yesterday after separatists called for a strike to protest against the previous day’s fatalities. Internet accessibility for mobile phones was suspended for the second day, to make organising protests more difficult.
Armed police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled across the region and enforced a security lockdown in old parts of Srinagar, the urban heart of anti-India protests.
The protests and clashes continued in the area but also spread to some other towns and villages of southern Kashmir. In anticipation, the University of Kashmir said classes would remain suspended for the next two days “as a precautionary
Among the five militants killed were a rebel commander and a university assistant professor of sociology
measure”. There have been renewed attacks and public protests against Indian rule in the past few years as a new generation of Kashmiri rebels, particularly in the south, have revived militancy and challenged New Delhi’s rule through social media.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, but Pakistan denies any involvement. Up to 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and ensuing Indian military crackdown.