Clashes between Indian army, protesters kill 1 in troubled Kashmir

Troops, protesters clash in Kashmir, 1 killed

SRINAGAR, India — Hundreds of separatists in Indian-controlled Kashmir clashed Friday with army soldiers who opened fire with live ammunition, killing one civilian and wounding others, police said.

Protesters in the mostly Muslim region have fought with Indian troops almost daily over the past three months, demanding that it be given independence from Hindu-dominated India or be allowed to merge with predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

The violence heightened this week after reports of a Quran desecration in the United States sent tens of thousands of angry Kashmiris into the streets.

Fearing more protests after Friday’s noon prayers, soldiers patrolled several villages and towns under a “new security strategy” in which military forces join police and paramilitary troops in keeping order.

Defying an indefinite curfew, hundreds of people gathered in Churpora, a village near the main city of Srinagar, and attacked the soldiers with stones, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

The soldiers fired live ammunition, killing one protester and wounding three others, he said.

However, Ghulam Mohammed, a villager, said the army stopped the protesters and opened fire without any provocation.

Another clash with the army took place in the nearby village of Chichilora, where some teenage marchers attacked soldiers with stones, the police officer said. At least one person was wounded when soldiers shot at the protesters, he said.

Manzoor Ahmed, a local resident, accused the soldiers of forcibly entering some homes, smashing windows and beating up people.

During an overnight clash in the town of Sopore, paramilitary troops fired at protesters, injuring seven people, police said.

The army has maintained a low profile in recent weeks, but was visible Friday following a call by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a separatist grouping, for people to march to army camps Sept. 21 to protest the intense military presence in the region.

On Thursday, Lt. Col. J.S. Brar, an army spokesman, asked people to ignore the call.

Since 1989, a violent, separatist insurgency and an ensuing crackdown by Indian forces have killed an estimated 68,000 people. While that rebellion has been largely suppressed, public opposition to Indian rule remains deep, and the region remains heavily militarized with hundreds of thousands of troops, checkpoints along main roads, and harsh emergency laws still in force.