In the latest in a series of such incidents in recent weeks, gunfire erupted across the Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan Aug. 26, injuring four Indian border guards. Bala Subramanyam, spokesman for the Indian Border Security Force, told AFP: "It was not clear whether it was Pakistani troops or militants who fired at our positions." The firing across the LoC comes a day after Indian troops shot dead four militants during a battle along the ceasefire line. In a separate attack, militants killed an Indian soldier. (AFP [2], Aug. 26)
Despite a curfew throughout India-controlled Kashmir, protests continued Aug. 28, with police using tear gas and gunfire, leaving five dead. There were also more arrests of separatist leaders. A planned separatist rally on Aug. 25 in Srinagar's historic Red Square was effectively halted by repression, including the arrest of three leaders before the event—Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik. On the 26th, police also arrested Asiya Andrabi, the region's leading woman separatist, who heads the Dukhtaran-e-Milat or Daughters of Faith organization. Since June, at least 37 Muslims and three Hindus have been killed in India-controlled Kashmir, mostly when security forces fired on protesters. (AFP [3], Aug. 26)
See our last posts on India [4], Pakistan [5] and Kashmir [6].
