Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in Held Kashmir on Saturday after a gunbattle between Kashmiri fighters and government forces killed four youths, police and residents said.
The fighting comes as the region is already reeling under the deadliest bloodshed in a decade in which over 500 people have been killed. According to rights groups, they include at least 269 freedom fighters, 158 members of Indian government forces and 156 civilians.
Indian troops early Saturday laid a siege around a southern village in Pulwama area on a tip that fighters were hiding there, leading to an exchange of gunfire, police said. Four people were killed, police said, adding that troops suffered no casualties.
Residents said government forces blasted one civilian house with explosives during the fighting, a common tactic by Indian troops in the occupied valley. At least two other houses also suffered damage.
The fighting sparked protests after hundreds of residents tried to march to the site of the battle in an attempt to help the fighters escape. Government forces fired warning shots, shotgun pellets and tear gas at the stone-throwing protesters. At least six people were reported injured.
Published in Daily Times, December 30th 2018.
