Affrontements au Kashmir indien – août 2010
-
Rappel :
-
Srinagar – 12-13 août 2010
Fresh protests, clashes in Indian Kashmir after killing of 11-year-old boy by security forces
CP
| 31 08 2010
SRINAGAR, India — Thousands of angry residents defied a curfew in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Tuesday, protesting the overnight killing of an 11-year-old boy by government forces, police said. Fifteen people were wounded in the southern town of Anantnag late Monday when government forces shot into a crowd despite an appeal last week from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that they use non-lethal measures to control the demonstrations that have become a near daily occurrence in the volatile region. At least 65 people have died in anti-India demonstrations and clashes between security forces and protesters in Kashmir since June. Each death has triggered more protests despite a rigid curfew in the Kashmir valley. Anger against Indian rule runs deep in the region, which is divided between Hindu-majority India and predominantly Muslim Pakistan and claimed by both nuclear-armed nations in its entirety. The latest deadly unrest against Indian rule shows no signs of abating despite the deployment of thousands of troops. Thousands of residents marched in Anantnag early Tuesday within hours of the death of the young boy. Police and paramilitary soldiers fired warning shots and tear gas to quell the protests, wounding three people, said a police officer on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. In Srinagar, the region’s main city, hundreds of men, women and children also held angry protests. They chanted « Go India, go back » and « We want freedom. » Police and paramilitary soldiers withdrew from the area to avoid clashes but sealed off the streets with razor wire and steel barricades. Meanwhile, India’s army said Tuesday it killed nine suspected rebels as they tried to sneak into the Indian portion of Kashmir from the Pakistani side. The nine were killed in a fierce fighting with the army over the past two days in Uri, a remote region west of Srinagar, said Col. Vineet Sood, an army spokesman. |
The area is close to the highly militarized cease-fire line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. There were no casualties among the Indian soldiers.
There was no independent confirmation of the army’s claim.
12 injured amid Govt curbs in Valley
kashmirwatch.com
31 08 2010
Srinagar: At least a dozen people on Tuesday were injured in fresh clashes as thousands of people across the Valley staged demonstrations to protest the killing of a teenager in South Kashmir’s Islamabad district yesterday.
Islamabad teenager laid to rest
15-year-old Irshad Ahmad Parray, son of Mohammad Ashraf, of old Eidgah, Janglat Mandi who was shot dead by police last evening was laid to rest at Martyrs graveyard early this morning. Thousands of people participated in the funeral prayers of the boy amidst vociferous pro-Azadi and anti-India slogans.
Later, clashes broke out between angry protesters and the forces in several parts of the district. At Gulshan Abad, Lazibal, Sarnal, Mattan chowk and other areas, angry youth pelted rocks and stones on the troops and police to register their anger against Irshad’s killing. CRPF and police burst tear smoke shells and resorted to baton charge to disperse the protesters.
Clashes also broke out between protesters and forces in Bijbehara town of the district. However, no reports of any injury were received. At least eight people, reports and eyewitnesses said were injured in the clashes in the district.
Peaceful demonstrations against the human rights violations were also held in Kakpora, Rajpora, Murran and other areas of the Pulwama district.
In Srinagar, curfew and restrictions remained in force for the fourth consecutive day today in a bid to scuttle pro-freedom and anti-India demonstrations by the people. Thousands of paramilitary men and police enforced strict curfew in the capital city and restricted the people.
Despite curfew and restrictions, groups of youth appeared in Natipora and Barzulla area of the city and staged pro-freedom and anti-India. CRPF and police burst teargas canisters and fired several shots in air when they failed to control the protesters who were hurling stones amid pro-freedom slogans. The Paramilitary CRPF also allegedly broke window panes and ransacked a few houses in Rambagh area, leading to protest by women.
Forces also resorted to cane charge to disperse pro-freedom demonstrators in Rainawari area of the old city.
At Maisuma, violent clashes broke out when troops and police used force to quell a pro-freedom procession near Budshah Chowk. Chanting “We want freedom,” “Islam Zindabad,” “Go India Go Back,” angry protesters hurled rocks and stones on the forces to protest the unprovoked firing on carom playing youth yesterday.
Peaceful protests were also held in Batpora, Zakura, Habak and other areas of the city outskirts.
Similar reports were received from Hyderpora, where hundreds of people of Galwanpora and adjoining areas assembled outside the residence of veteran pro-freedom leader and Hurriyat Conference (G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s residence and staged pro-freedom demonstration. Earlier, the protesters offered prayers on the road.
Pro-freedom demonstrations after Zuhr prayers were also held in Batmaloo and Noorbagh.
In Kangan area of Ganderbal district, four people were injured as protesters and forces were locked in street battles that continued till evening.
Reports of peaceful protests were also received from all the three districts of North Kashmir.
Press Bureau of India correspondent from North Kashmir said that hundreds of people took to streets in Rawatpora and Regipora and staged peaceful sit-in to protest the atrocities committed by the forces since last week. The protesters alleged that the CRPF and policemen stone residential houses when the deployment is rolled back from the area.
“Forces resort to stone pelting during Iftaar. They hurl stones on our houses and abuse the people,” Ghulam Qadir, an elderly said.
“Our youth are being provoked. Forces are the biggest threat to peace,” he added.
Peaceful protests were also held in Hirri, Batergam, Yunsoo, Tujjer and other areas.
Similar reports were received from Palhala, Singhpora, Tapper of Baramulla and Ajas and main chowk of Bandipore district.
Police, however said that the situation across the valley remained largely peaceful barring an incident of stone pelting in Shangas.
“Personnel of police station Kulgam while investigating a motor vehicle accident at Sangas were pelted upon by some miscreants. They were dispersed by using mild cane charge,” a police spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Hurriyat’s strike and government curbs crippled life across the summer capital for the fourth consecutive day today. All shops, government and private offices, educational and financial institutes remained closed today while the transport remained off the road.
Boy killed in south Kashmir firing, toll rises to 65
Sify.com
2010-08-30
|
Curfew clamped in some parts of Kashmir Valley
Press Trust Of India
Srinagar , August 31, 2010
Curfew was today clamped in Srinagar, Anantnag and Pulwama districts and restrictions were imposed on the movement of people in parts of Budgam following tension in the wake of the killing of a youth. Tension mounted in Anantnag, 55 kms from here, last evening as a youth, Irshad Ahmad Parray, who was among several persons injured when security forces opened fire to disperse slogan-shouting protestors at Sherbagh area, succumbed to his injuries in a Srinagar hospital, police said.
To prevent any untoward incident, curfew was imposed in Anantnag and adjoining Pulwama district this morning as a precautionary measure, they said.
They said curfew was also imposed in Srinagar this morning as people took to the streets in Maisuma in the heart of the city following rumours that one of the eight persons injured in the firing died in a hospital. Police said the condition of the injured identified as Yasir Rafiq Sheikh was critical.
Eight persons including three close kin of JKLF Chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik were injured when police opened fire to quell a stone-pelting mob in the locality yesterday. In the city, curfew was clamped in areas falling under police stations of Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari, Safakadal, M R Gunj, Soura, Nigeen, Zadibal, Hazratbal, Dalgate, Maisuma, Kralkhud, Shaheedgunj, Batmaloo, Qammerwari, Dalgate, Ram Munish Bagh, Tourist Reception Centre and Lal Bazar, police said.
In the rest of the areas of the city, restrictions have been imposed on the movement of people, they said. However, law enforcing agencies have been advised to allow the movement of government employees after showing their identity cards.
Restrictions on the movement of people have also been imposed in Hyderpora and Budgam towns of central Kashmir’ Budgam district. Shops, educational institutions, banks and private offices remained closed and all modes of transport was off the roads in response to the separatists’ call for strike up to 5 PM.
The Valley was rocked by violence following the death of a teenager on June 11 after he was allegedly hit by a teargas shell near Rajouri Kadal area of old city. Street protests broke out in the Valley which has claimed 65 lives so far.
New clashes in Kashmir leave 45 hurt
UPI
Aug. 27, 2010
SRINAGAR, India, Aug. 27 — Almost 45 people were injured when new clashes broke out between stone-throwing protesters and security forces in the Kashmir Valley, observers say.
The violence erupted Friday in areas where a curfew had been lifted, the Press Trust of India reported.
The Kupwara district, where the curfew remains in effect, was spared the violence.
The majority of injuries occurred at Shopian in south Kashmir.
Clashes also took place at Sopore and Tangmarg in the north and Soura, Nowhatta and Sabzi Mandi in Srinagar, the Press Trust said.
45 injured in fresh clashes in Kashmir; curfew lifted
Hindu.com
27 08 2010
SRINAGAR: At least 45 people were injured on Friday as fresh clashes broke out between stone-throwing mobs and security forces in the Kashmir Valley where curfew was lifted in all places, except Kupwara district.
The clashes erupted at Shopian in south Kashmir, Sopore and Tangmarg in the north and Soura, Nowhatta and Sabzi Mandi in Srinagar.
The majority of the protesters were injured in Shopian, 55 km from here, as they took to the streets and engaged the security forces in pitched battles since the morning.
The residents staged a demonstration in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner.
They were asked to disperse, but they refused and started throwing stones at the security personnel, who used pellet guns after teargas shells and lathi-charge proved futile. — PTI
Another teen dies, toll reaches 64
kashmirwatch.com
25 08 2010
-CRPF, police opens fire, 20 injured
Srinagar: A teenager allegedly beaten by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police in Soura area of city outskirts on Monday succumbed to injuries at SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) on Wednesday. The death of the teen sparked off fierce clashes between protesters and forces, leaving as many as 20 people injured six among them with bullets.
17-year-old Mohammad Umer, son of Abdul Qayoom Bhat of Anchar was critically injured when troops and police allegedly thrashed him during a pro-freedom demonstration in Soura area in city outskirts. He was rushed to SKIMS for serious injuries. However, after battling with life for three consecutive days, Umer succumbed to injuries this afternoon. With Umer’s death, the toll in the
“The teenager was brought to hospital on August 23 with multiple injuries due to beating. He had suffered liver injury as well. He was instantly operated upon and put on life support system. Around 1445 hours today, he succumbed to injuries,” Medical Superintend SKIMS, Dr Syed Amin Tabish told Press Bureau of India.
Pertinently, Umer is the fifth victim of the alleged deadly thrashing by CRPF troops and police in last two months.
The first victim, Rafiq Ahmad Bangroo, 27, was beaten to pulp by CRPF and police outside his Noorbagh residence on June 12. A week later, he succumbed to injuries at SKIMS.
After Bangroo, three more people, including seven-year-old boy Sameer Ahmad Rah son of Fayaz Ahmad Rah of Batmaloo were beaten to death by the forces.
The news of Umer’s death brought thousands of men women and children on roads in Soura, Bachpora, Anchar, Namath (90 feet road) and upper Soura. Chanting “We want freedom,”, “Islam Zindabad,” “O Oppressors! O tyrants-leave our Kashmir,” “Umer your blood will bring revolution,” “Go India Go Back,” and thunderous anti-India slogans, the people were protesting the ‘cold blooded murder’ of the teenager.
When the protesters tried to march through the streets of the area, CRPF and police resorted to cane charge and burst tear smoke shells to control the protesters. In retaliation, protesters pelted rocks and stones on the forces sparking off fierce clashes. Angry protesters also razed to ground a picket of the forces.
After tear smoke shells and warning shots proved ineffective, forces opened random fire upon the young protesters resulting in injuries to at least five people. All the injured identified as Mehraj-ud-din Teli, Irfan Ahmad Dar, Rafiq Ahmad Najar, Adil Ahmad and Ishtiyaq Ahmad were rushed to SKIMS. Ishtiyaq has suffered bullet injuries in head and lips.
“We have received seven people, five among them with firearm injuries. The doctors are attending the patients,” Tabish said.
Despite direct firing, protests and clashes continued in the area till evening. At least ten people were injured in the clashes.
Amid sobs, wails and heart wrenching scenes, Umer was laid to rest. Thousands of people participated in his Nimaz-e-Jinaza (Funeral prayers)
However, police said that minimum force was used to chase away a section of mourners who indulged in arson and stone pelting besides setting ablaze on fire a police vehicle and a private vehicle.
The slain youth, police spokesperson said was arrested along with two other youths Aamir Bashir Sheikh, son of Bashir Ahmad of Umarheir Buchpora and Irshad Ahmad Bhat, son of Ghulam Qadir Bhat of Dar Mohalla Soura by police on Friday last week and booked under section 107/151 Cr PC.
“All the youth were bailed out on Saturday last week and handed over to their parents/guardians,” the spokesman added.
Earlier, a youth was injured when CRPF men without any provocation opened fire upon a group of people who were returning to their homes after offering Zuhr (afternoon) prayers at Masjid-e-Sadiq, Frestbal. The injured youth identified as Javed Ahmad, 32, son of Abdul Ahad Bhat was rushed to SKIMS for treatment. He had received pallets in Neck and shoulder. His condition is said to be stable.
The injured youth owns a footwear shop in the area.
“There were no protests in the area. CRPF men without any reason or rhyme, fired upon the Nimazis who were returning home,” Bashir Ahmad Bhat, who accompanied Javed to SMHS hospital told PBI.
The incident triggered protests in the area. Hundreds of people yelling pro-freedom and anti-India slogans blocked the Srinagar-Jammu highway to register their anger against the unprovoked CRPF action.
However, a police spokesman said that that a huge mob pelted stones on the vehicles plying on the Highway resulting in injuries to a driver of the social welfare department.
“Police used mild lathi charge and chased away the stone pelting mob. However, one injured namely Javed Ahmad Bhat of Frestabal Pampore has been admitted in SMHS Hospital with shoulder and neck injuries. Police has taken cognizance and is looking into the matter,” the spokesman added.
Reports of protests and clashes were also received from other districts of South Kashmir.
Reports said that scores of people mainly youth took to streets at Tak Mohalla and staged pro-freedom and anti-India demonstrations this afternoon. Chanting pro-Islam, pro-Azadi and anti-India slogans, the protesters tried to march on the streets of the town.
When the protesters reached near the DC Office, CRPF and police deployed in advance lobbed tear smoke shells and resorted to cane charge to disperse the protesters. In retaliation, the protesters pelted rocks and stones on the forces triggering off violent clashes. At least two people, reports said were injured in the clashes.
Meanwhile, normal life today was again affected in wake of the strike call given by Hurriyat Conference (G) coupled with curfew and restrictions by the state authorities.
All shops, offices, educational institutions, banks, private and government offices remained closed throughout the day while the transport was off the roads.
In Srinagar, curfew was clamped in areas falling under the jurisdiction of Police Stations/Police posts of Batamloo, Bemina, Qamarwari, Kralkhud, Nowhatta, Khanyar, M.R. Gunj, Safakadal, Maisuma, Shaheedgunj and Abi-guzar area of Kothi Bagh
Unprecedented security arrangements were made in this capital city to prevent any attempt of people to come on roads and stage pro-freedom and anti-India demonstrations. Thousands of heavily armed troopers and policemen manned the lanes, by lanes and streets in the old city and civil lines to restrict the movement of the people. (PBI)
New clashes erupt in Indian-controlled Kashmir after teenage boy dies in hospitalBy Aijaz Hussain
CP
25 08 2010
SRINAGAR, India — Thousands of people joined protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday after a teenage boy died in a hospital, and paramilitary soldiers shot and injured at least four people, police said.
Omar Bhat, 17, died in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir, two days after he was released from police custody and admitted to a hospital, a police statement said.
It did not mention the cause of death, or why Bhat was arrested.
Amin Tabish, medical superintendent at the state-run hospital, said Bhat had been beaten severely, leading to kidney and respiratory failure.
« Police tortured him so badly that he was not able to breathe properly, » said Abdul Ahad, a relative of the boy.
Immediately after the boy’s body was brought to his home in the Soura neighbourhood of Srinagar, thousands of residents defied a curfew and thronged the streets, chanting « Go India! Go back » and « We want freedom. »
Police and paramilitary soldiers fired at the protesters and used tear gas to quell the protests, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
At least three people were wounded, police and doctors said.
In a separate incident, paramilitary soldiers fired at curfew-defying protesters in Pampore, a town south of Srinagar, wounding a young man, the police officer said. He was hospitalized with neck and shoulder injuries, the officer said.
But local residents disputed the police account, saying soldiers fired at worshippers as they emerged from a mosque.
After the incident, hundreds of people attacked police and paramilitary soldiers with rocks, triggering clashes in the town. Government forces fired warnings shots and used tear gas to break up the protests, police said.
The death toll from more than two months of civil unrest in Kashmir has reached 64, mostly protesters hit by gunfire from security forces.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the Himalayan enclave, which is divided between India and Pakistan but is claimed by both. Protesters reject Indian sovereignty over Kashmir and want independence or a merger with Pakistan.
The recent unrest is reminiscent of the late 1980s, when protests against New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir sparked an armed conflict that has so far killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians.
Most towns and villages in the region were under curfew on Wednesday, but peaceful protests were reported in several areas.
The curfew, imposed intermittently for two months, was relaxed Tuesday after separatists called on people to open shops and businesses to allow people to stock up on food and other supplies.
Kashmir Valley calm, curfew lifted
Press Trust Of India
Srinagar, August 24, 2010
After days of unrest, the situation in the Kashmir Valley was on Tuesday calm with curfew being lifted from all areas. With the lifting of curfew coinciding with the separatist’ decision not to call for a shutdown, shoppers flocked markets and business establishments reopened in Srinagar and all major towns of the Valley.
The situation is peaceful throughout the Valley and curfew has been lifted from all parts, police said.
Traffic snarls were seen at many place as people came out to stock supplies particularly in view of the ongoing holy month of Ramzan.
Schools, colleges, banks and private offices reopened and public transport was back on the roads.
The Valley was rocked by violence following the death of a teenager on June 11 after he was allegedly hit by teargas shell near Rajouri Kadal area. After that street protests broke out in the Valley which has claimed 63 lives so far.
Protester killed, 31 policemen hurt in Indian Kashmir
AFP
23 août 2010
SRINAGAR, India — A protester wounded during clashes with Indian security forces in Kashmir died on Monday, stoking fresh tensions after 31 policemen were hurt in weekend clashes, police said.
The latest death brought to 63 the number of protesters and bystanders killed in two months of violent protests in the mainly Muslim region, most of them young men or teenagers shot dead by security forces.
The 28-year-old who died on Monday had been wounded during clashes in northern Baramulla district on August 14 and died in hospital, police said.
Residents said the death had led to new protests, where hundreds of people blocked the main highway in the dead man’s village of Singhpora.
The scenic Kashmir region has been under rolling curfews to contain deadly protests that were sparked by the killing June 11 of a teenage student in the summar capital of Srinagar by a police teargas shell.
Anti-India demonstrations at five places in southern Pulwama district late Sunday left 31 policemen injured, including the district police chief, police said. One protester was also hurt.
Heavily militarised Indian Kashmir has been the scene of a deadly anti-India insurgency for the past two decades.
Many commentators attribute the latest protests to frustration among the young generation because of deadlock in talks about the status of disputed Kashmir and high unemployment.
The government in New Delhi has suggested unrest is being whippped up by separatists and militants.
Six hurt in fresh Indian Kashmir clashes
AFP
22 08 2010
SRINAGAR, India — Six people were hurt Sunday when police fired pump action shotguns at stone-throwing protesters in Kashmir, where more than 60 people have died during anti-India protests.
Police said the incident took place in Srinagar, the main town in Indian Kashmir, when police were conducting a flag march.
« Some miscreants pelted stones heavily on the police. The police used (teargas) and pump action ammunition to chase them away, » a police statement said, adding that six people were hurt. Doctors said one was in a critical condition.
Witnesses said the police used force on worshippers who were coming out of a mosque and that there was no stone pelting.
Tensions have been threatening to boil over during two months of demonstrations with 62 protesters and bystanders — some as young as nine — killed in the Muslim-majority region where anti-India feelings run deep.
The scenic region has been under rolling curfews to contain protests that began with the killing June 11 of a teenage student by a police teargas shell in Srinagar.
The protests have confronted India’s government with one of its biggest domestic crises as it grapples with how to calm tensions in the mountainous region once known as « Switzerland of the East ».
Security forces sealed off neighbourhoods with barbed wire and put up road blockades on Sunday in Srinagar, the main city of Indian Kashmir where an insurgency against New Delhi’s rule has been underway for two decades.
Militant violence has declined sharply in the region but popular protests against New Delhi’s rule have intensified over the past two years.
Protesters opposed to Indian rule in Kashmir have clashed with police on an almost daily basis during the last two months, leading to the worst violence in the region in more than two years.
Indian troops enforce curfew in Kashmir
AFP
20 08 2010
SRINAGAR, India — Indian security forces enforced a strict curfew in parts of Kashmir on Saturday, a day after two people were killed during anti-India protests in the region.
Tensions have been threatening to boil over during two months of demonstrations with 62 protesters and bystanders — some as young as nine — killed in the Muslim-majority region where anti-India feelings run deep.
Security forces sealed off neighbourhoods with barbed wire and put up road blockades on Saturday in Srinagar, the main city of Indian Kashmir where an insurgency against New Delhi’s rule has been underway for two decades.
« Much of Srinagar and three other towns are under curfew, » a police officer told AFP, asking not to be named.
The scenic region has been under rolling curfews to contain protests that began with the killing June 11 of a teenage student by a police teargas shell in Srinagar.
The protests have confronted India’s government with one of its biggest domestic crises as it grapples with how to calm tensions in the mountainous region once known as « Switzerland of the East ».
On Friday, Indian police began a murder probe after another teenager was shot dead by paramilitary forces in northern Sopore town.
The death sparked further street protests in which a second man died in southern Bijbehara town.
The rare move by the police to begin an investigation immediately comes amid accusations by locals and human rights groups that security personnel have been using indiscriminate and disproportionate force.
The two deaths on Friday sparked protests across the region
On Saturday, hundreds of men, women and children held a demonstration in the Bemina neighbourhood of Srinagar after security forces detained nearly three dozen youths during a « cordon and search » operation, police said.
Police fired teargas and swung batons to disperse the protesters.
Police reported protests in several other places across the region in line with a call by Muslim separatists.
Militant violence has declined sharply in the region but popular protests against New Delhi’s rule have intensified over the past two years.
Protesters opposed to Indian rule in Kashmir have clashed with police on an almost daily basis during the last two months, leading to the worst violence in the region in more than two years.
Each killing has sparked a fresh cycle of violence, and the state administration has responded by imposing curfews as separatists called for general strikes, effectively shutting down the region.
Over two dozen injured in Kashmir clashes
Sify.com
2010-08-19
Srinagar: Over two dozen people including five security men were injured in clashes between curfew-defying mobs and security forces across Kashmir on Thursday. An eight-old-boy, accidentally injured in police firing, died in hospital, taking to 60 the toll in the unrest since June 11.
Life remained paralysed with shops, other businesses, educational institutions, banks, post offices closed and public transport off the roads due to a shutdown called by the separatist Hurriyat group headed by Syed Ali Geelani.
Boy dies in Kashmir, toll rises to 60
To counter the separatist-called protests, authorities had imposed curfew in Srinagar and north Kashmir’s Sopore town while strict restrictions remained in place in Baramulla, Handwara, Kupwara and Pulwama towns.
A mob pelted stones at Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) bunker in Soura area of Srinagar.
‘As the mob could not be controlled by baton charges and tear smoke canisters, the CRPF personnel fired, injuring seven people including three including two women – with bullet injuries,’ police here said.
The two injured women have been identified as Sumeera and Fatima and the man as Habibullah Tiploo.
All the three were taken to the nearby Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura (SKIMS) where doctors operated upon Sumeera whose condition is still stated to be critical as she sustained a bullet injury in the chest, attending doctors at SKIMS said.
In Rainwari area of the city, a large number defied curfew to stage sit-ins and protests. Security forces did not intervene in the area.
In Sopore, a mob defied curfew and pelted stones on the security forces.
Police said after normal crowd control measures failed, the security forces had to use rubber bullets in which four protesters sustained injuries. Doctors described the condition of all the four as out of danger.
Earlier in the day, eight-year-old Milat Ahmad Dar succumbed to injuries in SKIMS where he had been admitted on last Saturday in a critical condition.
Dialogue key to ending cycle of violence in Kashmir: Sonia
Reports here said the boy was playing with his friends in Harnagh village when a bullet fired by security men in the air to disperse a mob which had attacked two of their vehicles Aug 14 hit him.
‘The boy was not part of the protesting mob at all. He had come to his mother’s ancestral Harnagh village from Wanpora village near Koimoh town in Kulgam district. The bullet was fired somewhere else and it claimed an innocent’s life somewhere else. This is the tragedy of Kashmiri people’, said a sobbing villager in Harnagh who did not want to be named.
The death of the boy evoked widespread anger in south Kashmir and authorities had to enforce strict curfew restrictions in Koimoh, Anantnag, Kulgam and Pulwama areas.
Boy killed as fresh clashes erupt in Kashmir: police
AFP
19 08 2010
SRINAGAR, India — Twenty people were hurt Thursday in fresh clashes with police after the death of a nine-year old boy injured during a weekend protest in Indian Kashmir, police said.
The death brought to 59 the number of protesters and bystanders killed in two months of violent protests in the mainly Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, most of them young men or teenagers shot dead by security forces.
The boy, who was not part of any protest, had been shot in southern Kulgam district Saturday and died in hospital Thursday, police said.
« He was injured when a stray bullet hit him after security forces opened fire to quell a demonstration, » a police spokesman said.
Thousands of Kulgam residents, shouting « We want freedom » and « blood for blood » attended his funeral, which dispersed peacefully.
In Srinagar, the Kashmiri summer capital, hundreds defied strict curfew restrictions in several places and staged protests against Indian rule, witnesses said.
Riot police fired live ammunition, tear-gas and wielded batons, injuring 17 protesters and bystanders, a police officer said, asking not to be named.
He said three of the injured suffered bullet wounds and were from the same family — a man, his daughter and daughter-in-law.
Protesters retaliated by hurling rocks and bricks, injuring three policemen.
Srinagar has been under a rolling curfew after separatists called on residents to hold protests against Indian rule.
Anti-Indian sentiments run deep in the valley, and recent protests that started on June 11 after a teenage student was killed by a police tear-gas shell, are the biggest in recent years.
Kashmir is in the grip of a 20-year-old insurgency against Indian rule that has left more than 47,000 people dead by an official count.
Two more die in unrest, toll 59
hindustantimes.com
Srinagar, August 17, 2010
A 20-year-old man, hurt in a clash with security forces, succumbed to his injuries in Srinagar on Tuesday, while a cyclist died after being hit by a paramilitary vehicle, taking the toll in the ongoing unrest in Kashmir since June 11 to 59. Muhammad Abbas Dhobi, who was injured in clashes in Lazibal village of Anantnag district last week, died in a Srinagar hospital in the morning.
« The youth had sustained injuries in the stampede during clashes between unruly mobs and the security forces in Anantnag last week, » a senior police officer said here.
His body was handed over to relatives for burial. Locals in Anantnag allege the youth had been severely beaten up by security personnel.
While curfew was lifted in the Valley earlier in the day, it was re-imposed in south Kashmir Anantnag and Pulwama towns as tension gripped the region in the wake of Dhobi’s death.
Shops, educational institutions, banks, post offices and other businesses were immediately shut in the twin towns. Dozens of stone-pelting youth came out on the roads, engaging security forces in clashes.
An indefinite curfew has been imposed in Anantnag and Pulwama towns, a police official here said.
A retired police constable, meanwhile, died in Bemina outskirts of Srinagar city after being hit by a paramilitary vehicle, resulting in clashes in the area.
A paramilitary vehicle caught in the middle of a stone-pelting mob hit a cyclist while trying to drive out of the locality.
« Identified as a retired police constable, Muhammad Yusuf, died on the spot after being hit by a paramilitary vehicle in Bemina area, » a police official said.
Mobs again took to the streets, pelting stones at the passing traffic in Batmaloo area of the city, where the retired policeman lived.
Authorities had earlier Tuesday lifted curfew from Srinagar city and all other towns of the Valley following appeals by the hardline separatist group headed by Syed Ali Geelani, asking people to resume normal life for a day.
Shops opened early Tuesday and people thronged markets here. Traffic jams on the roads, however, gave a tough time to both the commuters and the traffic policemen.
Banks, post offices and educational institutions functioned normally as people busied themselves buying essentials of life to sustain them through another spell of curfew and shutdowns with the separatist calendar asking people to observe shutdowns and protests on Wednesday and Thursday.
« Anyone seeing the hustle and bustle in the markets here today would fail to trust his eyes given the highly volatile situation we have been passing through since the last two months now. This is the paradox of Kashmir that confuses even the most sane among the political analysts, » said Khwaja Nisar Hussain, a retired chief engineer here.
Clashes after protester dies in Indian Kashmir
AFP
17 08 2010
SRINAGAR, India — Stone-hurling protesters fought police Tuesday after the death of a young man injured in a clash with security forces in restive Indian Kashmir, police said.
The latest death brought to 58 the number of protesters and bystanders killed in two months of violent protests in the mainly Muslim region, most of them young men or teenagers shot dead by security forces.
The man had been injured in southern Anantnag town Friday and died in hospital Tuesday, police said.
His said he had been beaten by security forces during an anti-India protest but police said he had been injured in a stampede during a clash between security forces and protesters.
« We have clamped a curfew on the town in an attempt to prevent further unrest, » a police officer said, asking not to be named.
Meanwhile, in Indian Kashmir summer capital Srinagar young protesters clashed with security forces in several places, police said.
Protesters set up roadblocks by burning tyres and logs and hurled stones at security forces. Police retaliated by firing warning shots and used tear gas and batons.
Protesters opposed to Indian rule have clashed with police on nearly a daily basis in Srinagar and other towns over the past two months, which have seen the worst violence in the Kashmir Valley in more than two years.
Each killing has sparked a fresh cycle of violence, and the state administration has responded by imposing curfews as separatists called for general strikes, effectively shutting down the region.
Clashes continue in Valley, 30 injured
indianexpress.com
Tue Aug 17 2010
Even as curfew and restrictions on movement remained in place in most parts of the Valley for the fourth consecutive day, clashes between protesters and the police were reported from several places. More than 30 people were injured as police fired teargas shells and bullets to control the protesters.
More than 20 protesters were injured when police resorted to cane-charge and fired tear smoke shells to disperse protesters in Kokernag village of Anantnag in south Kashmir. Hundreds of people took to the streets at the tourist destination, raising anti-India slogans.
After failing to disperse them with cane-charging, the police fired teargas shells and warning shots in the air. Five of the protesters received serious injuries and one of them was shifted to Srinagar for treatment.
- In south Kashmir’s Tral town, police opened fire on protesters wounding four persons. Two of the critically wounded protesters, identified as Shabir Ahmad and Waris Amin, have been taken to Srinagar.
anthropologie du présent 