Security forces imposed a strict curfew in occupied Kashmir on Saturday where anti-India protests have claimed 55 lives in two months. Authorities stepped up the curfew in occupied Srinagar after four people were killed Friday in the latest of a series of demonstrations against New Delhi's rule in the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.
"We have enforced a curfew across Srinagar to maintain law and order," chief district magistrate Meraj Kakroo said. The strictly enforced curfew was also extended to other parts of the region, police added. The move comes in response to the ever bolder protests by Kashmiris to force India to withdraw troops from the disputed region claimed by both India and Pakistan and end New Delhi's rule.
The latest killings of three teenage students and a 65 year-old-man came as Kashmiris marked the first Friday of the Ramazan fasting month during which many people in the mostly Muslim region visit mosques to pray. The killings sparked further demonstrations Friday across occupied Kashmir, police said, adding in ensuing clashes 30 security personnel and 10 civilians were injured. Three of the injured were in "very critical condition," doctors said.
In Srinagar, security forces who critics say resort to using live ammunition because they are poorly trained and unable to handle the stone-pelting crowds, announced a "strict curfew" over loudspeakers. Police and paramilitary forces carrying guns and batons patrolled the deserted streets, sealing off neighbourhoods with barbed wire, while armoured vehicles with troops atop blocked main intersections.