[ad_1]
Officials said that in a series of counter-insurgency operations in the Indian-controlled Kashmir region, eight suspected insurgents and two Indian soldiers were killed.
Many shops were closed in parts of the disputed area to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of a popular rebel commander who was killed in 2016, sparking public contempt for Indian rule.
Due to the increase in violence in the Himalayas in recent weeks, deaths occurred in five different incidents starting on Wednesday.
The Indian military said that on Thursday, two soldiers and two insurgents were killed in clashes over the Line of Control (LoC), a highly militarized de facto border that divides Kashmir into a nuclear-armed rival Pakistan. And India.
The military said in a statement that fighting broke out after soldiers intercepted a group of armed men who had entered the Kashmir region from the Indian-controlled Kashmir region.
This is the first such skirmish between the two countries near the de facto border with Pakistan on February 25. Agree to reiterate Their 2003 ceasefire agreement.
The Indian military said in a statement that the incident was “a fierce confrontation in which two foreign terrorists from Pakistan were killed.”
Surge of violence
Earlier, the Indian army stated that its soldiers killed a suspected soldier who had infiltrated the Indian side of Kashmir on Wednesday.
The Indian military said that early Thursday, in the Pulwama and Kulgam areas of southern Kashmir, four suspected insurgents were killed in two separate gun battles with the Indian army. It said the soldiers found two rifles and two pistols from the scene of the conflict.
On Wednesday, the army arrested a senior insurgent Mehraj-ud-din Halwai in the northwestern area of ??Handwala. The police said in a statement that after interrogation, he took them to a hideout where he was killed in the crossfire.
The statement said that in the hiding place, Harvey “picked up his hidden AK-47 rifle and began to fire indiscriminately on the joint search team, resulting in an encounter.”
According to the police, Halwai was wanted for several murders of police and village officials.
This is the second such incident in 10 days.
On June 29, the police stated that a detained suspected rebel commander was killed in a gun battle between government forces and another rebel. Rifle house.
In the past, many rebels were killed when they were taken by government forces to retrieve their weapons. Rights groups and residents called them extrajudicial executions.
In the past three weeks, at least 24 suspected insurgents have been killed in battles with Indian soldiers.
Officials say 71 armed insurgents have been killed in Muslim-majority areas so far this year, and India has deployed at least 500,000 soldiers in the area.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Narendra Modi) last month, violence surged Hold a meeting There are 14 pro-Indian leaders in the region. This is New Delhi’s first political participation after it abolished part of the region’s autonomy and divided the region into two territories in August 2019.
5th Anniversary of Varney’s Killing
Many shops and businesses in the Kashmir Valley, the heartland of the anti-Indian rebellion, remained closed on Thursday to commemorate Five Years The death of the famous rebel commander Burhan Wani.
Government forces patrolled the streets and sealed off Vanni’s hometown in response to anti-India protests. On July 8, 2016, Vani and two accomplices were killed in a brief battle with the Indian army.
Separatist leaders called for a general strike to commemorate Varney, whose death triggered months of massive protests and clashes in the area.
At least 100 people (most of them young people) were killed and thousands were injured, many of whom were blinded by shotgun bullets fired by the Indian army.
Vanni’s death gave the rebel movement a new life, which has fallen to only about 100 scattered fighters. Officials say that since he was killed, hundreds of young people have joined the ranks of the rebels.
No independent confirmation has been made for any of the five incidents.
Since 1989, the Kashmir rebels have been fighting against Indian rule. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel’s goal of unifying the territory under Pakistani rule or as an independent state.
India insists that the Kashmir rebellion is “Pakistan-backed terrorism.” Pakistan denies this accusation, and most Kashmiris believe it is a legitimate freedom struggle.
Tens of thousands of civilians, insurgents and government forces were killed in the conflict.
[ad_2]
Source link