Hindus and Christians clashed in Barakhama village in Kandhamal district of India's Orissa state Aug. 25 and the ensuing gunbattle resulted in the death of four local residents, including one woman. A curfew has been imposed in much of the district, and paramilitary police have been sent in. Sporadic incidents of arson attacks on churches continue to be reported across the district. An orphanage run by Christian missionaries in Khuntpali village, Bargarh district, was set ablaze on and a woman was burnt alive inside. A paralytic patient was also lynched and burnt. India's bishops have announced a day of prayer and fasting for peace. (CathNews, Aug. 27; IBN, Aug. 25)

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, Aug. 26)

Sheikh Abdul Aziz, a leader of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, was killed as some 100,000 Muslim Kashmiris made an unprecedented attempt to breach the Line of Control (LoC) Aug. 11. In Chehel, about 28 miles from the LoC, where Abdul Aziz was shot, marchers pushed aside barricades and clashed with security forces, who fired on the crowd. One other marcher was reportedly wounded. Two armored cars were burnt in the nearby town of Baramullah. (London Times, NYT, Aug. 12) Twelve protesters were shot to death in different parts of India-controlled Kashmir Aug. 12—at least four of them at the funeral for Abdul Aziz in Bandipora. (Dawn, Aug. 13) The Press Trust of India places the two-day death toll in Kashmir at 21—mostly protesters shot by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). (PTI, Aug. 13)

Several separatist leaders are under house arrest in India-controlled Kashmir, as a complete general strike has paralyzed Srinagar for four days following the death of a protesting youth in the city Aug. 5. Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Shabir Ahmad Shah were placed under house arrest to prevent their proposed march to the headquarters of the UN Military Observers Group (UNMOG). (Indo-Asian News Service, Aug. 8)

Ahmedabad, capital of the Indian state of Gujarat, was hit by 17 blasts in a space of 70 minutes July 26, killing at least 45 and leaving some 150 injured—one day after eight near-simultaneous explosions rocked the southern city of Bangalore, killing one and wounding six. In an e-mail sent to New Delhi's Intelligence Bureau, a group calling itself the "Indian Mujahedeen" claimed responsibility for the Ahmedabad blasts. The same group also claimed responsibility for recent deadly bombings in Jaipur and Uttar Pradesh.

Sikh protesters blocked a rail line through Amristar in protests across India's Punjab this week to demand the arrest of Ram Rahim Singh, leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, which combines spirituality with social work—but which orthodox Sikhs accuse of heresy. On June 20, a Sikh protester was killed and two more wounded when one of Singh's bodyguards opened fire during a clash in Mumbai. Authorities say they are investigating. (Zee News, ANI, NYT, June 25)

One is reported killed and over 80 people, including at least 30 police, injured in clashes when protests over the transfer of forest land to the Amarnath shrine trust exploded into street-fighting in Srinagar and Ganderbal district, Kashmir, June 23. Indian police, including elite Central Reserve Police Force officers, fired tear-gas and live ammunition to break up protests by Muslims angry with a government decision to transfer 100 acres to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board to erect temporary structures for thousands of Hindu pilgrims who annually trek to the holy site deep in the Himalayas. Muslim protesters attacked government buildings and a police post, and set vehicles ablaze. A strike to protest the death of a protester in the repression has shut down Srinagar.

Sri Lanka's air force launched helicopter attacks on rebel-held territory in the island's north June 21, as ground troops killed at least four guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Mannar district. "Sri Lanka air force MI-24 helicopter gunships raided a gathering place of the LTTE," the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The LTTE made no statement, and there was no word on civilian casualties. (AFP, June 21)