SRINAGAR, India: Thousands of residents of Indian Kashmir poured on to the streets Saturday after the death of another protester in a wave of anti-India unrest that has gripped the region for three months.
Defying a strict curfew, protesters in Srinagar chanted "we want freedom!" and "Indians go back," in an outpouring of public anger after the latest death, which brought the death toll since the violence began in June to 98.
The young protester died in a hospital Saturday after being injured earlier this week when security forces fired on violent protesters in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.
Women and children were among those out on the streets on Saturday, the sixth day of a rigid indefinite curfew brought in across the region to try to contain the unrest.
Government forces have been battling for months to quell the violent demonstrations in the mainly Muslim region that were ignited by the police killing of a 17-year-old student on June 11.
A total of 98 protesters and bystanders -- including children -- have been killed, mostly by security forces firing on demonstrators after being pelted with stones. One policeman has also died.
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 of "brutality" over its crackdown on demonstrators who are pushing for an end to New Delhi`s rule in Kashmir, a territory claimed by both nuclear-armed neighbours.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who held tense talks with his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna in July to try to build trust between the estranged neighbours, condemned India`s actions.
A strict curfew has been in place since Sunday in most parts of Kashmir, leading to complaints of "collective punishment" from locals who have been confined to their homes and are running low on food and medicine.
BDST: 1635 HRS, September 18, 2010
