Clashes leave two dead, 18 injured in Kashmir

Rasa - Indian police have clashed with demonstrators in the Indian-administered Kashmir, leaving two people dead and 18 others injured.

News ID: 428488

Date: 28 March 2017 - 21:58

RNA - Inspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani said the clashes erupted on Tuesday after police and soldiers cordoned off the southern town of Chadoora on a tip that a militant was hiding in a house in the area.

During the gun battle, hundreds of residents chanting anti-India slogans poured into the streets in the area in an attempt to help the trapped fighter escape, resulting in clashes with police, according to Gillani.

Police said eight police and soldiers were among the injured.

Hundreds of thousands of Indian security forces have been deployed to the Indian-controlled Kashmir, where groups have for decades been fighting for independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both since the two partitioned and gained independence from Britain in 1947. The two countries have fought three wars over the disputed territory.

While an escalation in the dispute was underway in the disputed region after a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001, gradual diplomatic efforts led to an agreement by the two countries to maintain a ceasefire in Kashmir in November 2003.

Since then, there have been sporadic clashes — with the two sides trading accusations of violating the ceasefire — but no major conflict between the two neighboring countries.

The region has also been the scene of protests and tighter security since early July last year, when Indian forces killed a leading pro-independence fighter. The protests have left about 90 people dead.

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