SRINAGAR: Police fired on fresh anti-India demonstrations in Kashmir on Saturday, killing at least one and bringing the number of civilian deaths in an unprecedented wave of unrest to 100.
The protester was killed in Anantnag town when police shot at demonstrators who were hurling stones, after authorities retrieved the body of a man who drowned earlier in the week when police allegedly chased him into a river.
Security forces had to open fire to quell the violent demonstration, a police officer told AFP from Anantnag, south of Srinagar, where a two-decade uprising has been under way against New Delhi's rule.
Government forces have been battling for months to quell angry pro-independence demonstrations in the mainly Muslim region that were ignited by the police killing of a 17-year-old student on June 11.
Thousands spilled onto the streets Saturday in a fresh outpouring of public anger, including woman and children who defied a rigid indefinite curfew brought in across the region to try to contain the unrest.
In Srinagar, protesters spilled into the streets shouting, We want freedom! after officials reported another young protester died in hospital Saturday after being hurt earlier in the week by police firing.
So far, 100 protesters and bystanders, including children, have been killed since June according to an AFP tally, mostly by security forces firing on demonstrators who were pelting them with stones, chunks of wood and concrete.
One policeman has also died.
On Friday the London-based human rights group Amnesty International called on Indian authorities to order security forces not to use firearms against demonstrators.
There is an urgent need for the government to act to prevent more deaths, Amnesty said in a statement.
Security forces should use the minimum force necessary to defend themselves, Amnesty said.
The government is sending a 35-member all-party delegation to Kashmir on Monday to seek a way out of the cycle of violence, Indian media reported.
Home Minister P Chidambaram will lead the team, which aims to meet separatists and a cross-section of local people in a bid to defuse tensions, the Hindustan Times newspaper said.
The almost daily popular protests are the largest since an armed revolt erupted against Indian rule in 1989.
On Friday, at least three people were killed and 23 injured after security forces opened fire in six places as crowds pelted troops with stones and set fire to government buildings and vehicles, police said.
Police said protesters had injured at least 20 security force personnel in stone-throwing incidents instigated by separatists.
Pakistan accused India on Friday of brutality over its crackdown on demonstrators in the territory, which is held in part by each of the neighbours but claimed in full by both.
The curfew has been in place since Sunday in most parts of Indian-administered Kashmir, leading to complaints of collective punishment from locals who have been confined to their homes and are running low on food and medicine.
DAWN.COM | World | Fresh unrest rocks Kashmir as death toll hits 100
