5 more Kashmiris killed in clashes with Indian forces
The number of pro-independence fighters killed this year during clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir has exceeded 200 as five more lose their lives in armed fighting in the restive Himalayan region.
Indian army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said Thursday that fighting between security forces and “suspected militants” left four dead in the central Budgam district of Kashmir while another one was killed in similar skirmishes in Sopore, an area northwest of the major city of Srinagar.
A police source speaking on condition of anonymity said the firefight in Sopore left a soldier wounded while three protesters were injured as police used pellets to disperse them.
India designates those opposing its rule in Kashmir as militants, saying they receive arms and training from Pakistan. However, local sources have indicated that many of those killed since a renewed wave of fighting erupted in the region last summer have been civilians who opposed India’s rule through peaceful means.
Tolls provided by police officials and monitoring groups show that 205 people have been killed since the death of a young and popular pro-independence commander in July 2016 sparked massive unrest. The figure is the highest recorded since 2010 when hundreds fell victim to India’s crackdown in Kashmir, which again came over the killings of protesters.
More than half a million Indian soldiers are deployed in Kashmir since 1989 when popular calls grew for independence or a merger of the territory with Muslim-majority Pakistan.
A former British colony, Kashmir was divided between India and Pakistan in 1947.
The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought two wars over the control of the entire territory.
Tens of thousands, most of them civilians, have been killed in decades of fighting in Kashmir while the neighbors continue to blame each other for the protracted violence.
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