2600 bodies including civilians found in Kashmir mass grave
A human rights group in Kashmir said it had discovered some 2,600 unmarked graves linked to the region's pro-freedom movement.
Wednesday, 02 December 2009 23:42
A human rights group in Kashmir said on Wednesday it had discovered some 2,600 bodies from an unmarked grave, including scores of civilians and called on authorities to launch an investigation.
The graves were found in cemeteries in 55 villages close to the Line of Control, according to the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian Administered Kashmir (IPTK).
"The graveyards investigated by IPTK entomb bodies of those murdered in encounter and fake encounter killings between 1990-2009," Angana P. Chatterji, IPTK's convener, said at a news conference.
Nearly 90 percent of the graves were unmarked, she said.
In a report titled "Buried Evidence" released Wednesday, the group documented 2,373 "unmarked and mass graves" containing nearly 2,600 bodies. It said 177 of the graves contained more than one body.
"We're not saying who is in each grave. But we're saying these are unnamed graves and its imperative to investigate the issue by an independent international body," said Angna Chatterji, one of the group's members.
The Himalayan region is at the heart of a decades-long dispute between India and Pakistan, who have fought two of their three wars over the issue since they won freedom from British rule in 1947.
Tens of thousands of [innocent] Muslims have been killed since pro-independent moves grew against Indian rule in 1989.
Last year, the same rights group, said they had discovered nearly 1,000 unmarked graves in 18 villages in the same area.
Kashmiris see India as an "occupier" and accuse the ruling of systematic violations, killing dozens of civilians in Himalayan region.
International human rights groups, which put the toll at about 70,000 dead or missing, have in the past asked Indian authorities to investigate whether unmarked graves hold bodies of civilians who have disappeared as Indian troops attacked fighters.
Indian security forces in the troubled region have been accused of killing civilians in staged gun battles and passing them off as pro-independent fighters to earn rewards and promotions.
2600 bodies including civilians found in Kashmir mass grave [ WORLD BULLETIN- TURKEY NEWS, WORLD NEWS ]