Saturday, 7 March 2009
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Government forces fired tear gas canisters and used bamboo batons today to disperse hundreds of Muslims protesting against the killing of a teenager a day earlier in Indian Kashmir.
Clashes erupted as people marched to a memorial service for 17-year-old Shahid Ahmed Ahangar, who was shot dead by security forces yesterday in Srinagar, the disputed region’s main city.
At least 23 others, including six soldiers, were injured in the day’s clashes, according to police.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where most people favour independence from mainly Hindu India or unification with predominantly Muslim Pakistan. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but both countries claim the region in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.
Chanting “We want freedom” and anti-India slogans, the protesters were stopped by troops who tried to prevent them from marching to Rainawari district in Srinagar.
No injuries were immediately reported from the clashes, said a police officer on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak with the media.
Thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers in riot gear with automatic weapons patrolled the streets of Srinagar.
“Soldiers didn’t even allow us to come out of our homes in the morning to buy milk and bread,” said resident Latief Bhat.
Indian Kashmir’s Law Minister Abdul Rahim Rather said in a statement there would be “a thorough probe into (yesterday’s) incident to fix the responsibility and punish the guilty.”
Last month, two civilians were killed northwest of Srinagar when the Indian army opened fire on them. That incident provoked widespread protests against Indian rule.
Militant separatist groups have been fighting since 1989 to end Indian rule. More than 68,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the uprising and subsequent Indian crackdown.
Tags: demands for independence, Indian forces, Indian Kashmir, people killed, protesters
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