At least four people have been killed in troubled India-held Kashmir and around 15 others injured on Tuesday as hundreds clashed with government troops during anti-India protests, police said.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that government troops fired live ammunition and used pellet guns to control the stone throwing and slogan chanting crowds in Aripanthan village, west of Srinagar.
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Three of the injured are in critical condition, police said.
Locals and officials say government forces stopped hundreds of villagers from chanting slogans against Indian rule in Aripanthan village and clashes erupted as troops fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to quell the protests.
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As the clashes intensified, troops fired live bullets at the protesters.
News of killings brought thousands of others from neighbouring villages into the streets chanting “Go India, go back” and “We want freedom.”
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The Himalayan region has been extremely tense for almost six weeks since government troops shot and killed militant commander Burhan Wani.
Tuesday’s killings take the death toll in the recent weeks of protests to over 50, including two policemen. Thousands more have been injured.
More than 68,000 people have been killed since militants began fighting Indian forces in 1989 and in a subsequent Indian military crackdown.
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