Curfew in Indian-controlled Kashmir to prevent protest rally скачать в хорошем качестве

Curfew in Indian-controlled Kashmir to prevent protest rally

(6 Oct 2008) 1. Wide of paramilitary soldiers near venue of planned pro-independence rally 2. Paramilitary soldier next to barbed wire 3. Various of soldiers on street 4. Wide of deserted street barricaded by barbed wire, soldiers in foreground 5. Various of soldiers next to barbed wire 6. Soldiers patrolling street 7. Various of paramilitary vehicles driving through Srinagar streets STORYLINE : Indian police warned on Monday they would shoot any violators of an indefinite curfew imposed in Indian-administered Kashmir to prevent a pro-independence rally. Thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers in riot gear drove through neighbourhoods and went to people's homes warning them to stay indoors, said a resident of Nowhatta district in Srinagar, the summer capital of the Muslim majority state of Jammu-Kashmir. In recent months the disputed Himalayan region has seen some of the largest protests against Indian rule in two decades. At least 45 people have died in the unrest, most of them killed when soldiers opened fire on Muslim demonstrators. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Indian-administered Kashmir, where most people favour independence from mainly Hindu India, or a merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan. Separatist groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 to end Indian rule, leaving an estimated 68-thousand people, most of them civilians, dead. Indian police and paramilitary forces also prevented people from visiting mosques for Monday morning prayers in Srinagar and other places in the region, residents said. Streets were deserted with shops, schools and businesses shut for the day. Police announced over loudspeakers they would shoot anyone found violating the curfew, residents said. The recent demonstrations subsided during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended on September 30. But separatist leaders sought to rekindle the protests with a huge rally Monday at Lal Chowk, a central square in Srinagar. Authorities announced an indefinite curfew across the Kashmir Valley on Sunday. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over the region. Both the neighbouring countries claim the region in its entirety. In an attempt to defuse the protests, police on Saturday arrested Mohammed Yasin Malik, a key separatist leader, said a police spokesman. Another top separatist leader, Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, was put under house arrest, the spokesman said. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...