Kashmir: 2 more civilians killed amid unrest

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Indian-held Kashmir (AA) - Two more civilians were killed by the Indian armed forces Saturday, further raising tensions ahead of Eid al-Adha in the disputed Indian-held Kashmir

The region has been the scene of unrest targeted at Indian rule these past two months.

“According to our information, one of the two killed today was a 25-year-old boy who was hit by a tear gas shell in the head in Shopian in South Kashmir. The other slain was a 23-year-old boy from Anantnag in South Kashmir who had pellet injuries on his stomach and abdomen,” said a senior police official in South Kashmir who spoke to Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity.

The mass pro-independence protests against Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir valley have been ongoing for more than 60 days.

So far, at least 77 civilian protestors have been killed by the Indian forces and, according to data gathered from various hospitals across the state, more than 9,000 others have been wounded, many of them permanently maimed and blinded.

As Indian police and paramilitary, aided by the army, have been unable to quell the gatherings, the Indian government has decided to increase the Army’s role in the crackdown on the people’s protests.

“The army will be given a major role in containing the violence in the coming days,” a police official told Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity.

India’s Chief of the Army Staff, Gen. Dalbir Singh, visited the disputed region on Friday to review to the security situation.

The current uprising was triggered by the killing of a Kashmiri militant commander, Burhan Wani, by Indian forces on July 8.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full.

The two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965 and 1971 – since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.

Since 1989, Kashmiri resistance groups in IHK have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict so far, most of them by the Indian Armed forces. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed regions.