SRINAGAR: A large number of Kashmiri protesters were injured on Tuesday after Indian forces opened fire on them in the Soura neighbourhood in Occupied Kashmir.
According to the Kashmir Media Service, scores of people defied the curfew again “in south, north, and central Kashmir…against India’s latest onslaught and imposition of Hindu culture on Kashmiri people”.
Many were injured when Indian Army soldiers opened fire, using pellets, bullets, and teargas shells on protesters, it said, as New Delhi deliberately aimed to destroy businesses. Locals, the KMS added, were extremely concerned for “their teenaged sons, who were abducted by the troops during nocturnal raids”.
According to details, Indian forces intend to conduct a major operation in Soura area after the violent clashes.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a top Indian police official said the Indian Army was busy preparing for the operation in the area where, on Friday, a demonstration rally was held on the call of the Himalayan region’s resistance leaders.
Earlier, on Friday, people had taken to the streets in Srinagar despite stringent curfew as well as other restrictions implemented to prevent the march from reaching the United Nations military observers’ office in the capital’s Sonawar area.
International media outlets reported that at least two people were wounded.
Separately, data from occupied Kashmir’s two main hospitals indicated that at least 152 people have suffered injuries from tear gas and pellets in the disputed region since India’s sweeping crackdown.
A local government official in occupied Kashmir, however, said the number of injured was probably higher than the figures from the two hospitals. The clashes occurred after Friday prayers, with Indian soldiers using pellet gun shells and teargas against the protesters.
The Kashmiri folks, on the other hand, were only using stones and rocks at the security forces.
The development of an upcoming crackdown comes as a communications and media blackout in occupied Kashmir continued through the 23rd consecutive day, with former chief ministers and other politicians still under house arrest.
According to various reports, there was a severe shortage of food and crucial medicines in occupied Kashmir, with no way for the locals to reach out to the outside world.
