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Rebels, Indian forces fight in disputed Kashmir; 2 killed
SRINAGAR, India — Rebels attacked an Indian army camp and an armoured vehicle, leading to fighting in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said Monday. A soldier and a civilian were killed and three soldiers were wounded.
The deaths occurred overnight during fighting that followed a rebel attack on an army camp in southern Kakpora village, said a police official who spoke under anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the media.
On Monday, thousands participated in the funeral of the civilian while chanting slogans in favour of rebels and demanding an end of Indian rule over Kashmir.
Clashes also erupted as some youths threw stones at government forces who fired tear gas to quell the anti-India protests. No one was immediately reported injured.
Separately, militants detonated a bomb by remote control targeting an Indian army armoured vehicle in the volatile Shopian area on Monday, the police official said. The soldiers in the vehicle were patrolling the area.
Three soldiers, including an army officer, were wounded in the blast, which extensively damaged the vehicle.
The attacks come despite India declared a ceasefire during the ongoing Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Rebels have rejected the government’s ceasefire, calling it a “drama.”
India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since 1989, demanding that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
In recent years, there have been renewed rebel attacks and public protests against Indian rule as a new generation of Kashmiri rebels, especially in the southern parts of the region, revive the militancy and challenge New Delhi’s rule with guns and use of social media.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.
Most Kashmiris support the rebel cause while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.
Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.
