Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- 1) Police Fire on Kashmir Rally - BBC 2) [17 Hindu] Shepherds Die in Kashmir Massacre - BBC ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, 3 August, 2001, 12:29 GMT 13:29 UK Police fire on Kashmir rally [PICTURE: India is worried about pro-independence gestures] At least one person has been killed and six wounded as Indian security forces opened fire on a demonstration in support of separatist guerrillas in Indian-administered Kashmir, reports from the region say. Some 50,000 attended a special prayer ceremony for a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group, Mustafa Khan, who was killed along with another two militants in a clash at Magam north of the capital, Srinagar, on Monday. The BBC's Altaf Hussain in Kashmir said the demonstration was apparently peaceful. Security sources were not available for comment, our correspondent says. The people later marched in a procession chanting pro-freedom slogans. Earlier more than 20,000 people had attended the funeral of Mustafa Khan on Tuesday. Open support There have been several instances of open public support to the militants this year. There have been open demonstrations recently Indian authorities say they are worried about the phenomenon. Meanwhile eight people, six of them militants, were killed in separate incidents of violence on Friday. Police say four militants were killed in a clash with the Indian troops near Drehgam in the frontier district of Kupwara on Friday. In another incident two militants of Hizbul Mujahideen groups were killed in a landmine explosion in the southern township of Dral. The landmine appears to have gone off accidentally while they planted it on a road Saturday, 4 August, 2001, 14:17 GMT 15:17 UK Shepherds die in Kashmir massacre [PICTURE: Security forces were rushed to the area after the attack] Seventeen abducted Hindu shepherds have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir in an attack by suspected separatist militants. Police say the bodies have been discovered in the remote Doda district, some 240 km (150 miles) north of the state's winter capital, Jammu. Police have blamed separatist militants although no group has said it carried out the attack. The militants were said to have kidnapped 21 shepherds who had taken their animals to graze on higher ground. A local resident alerted police after hearing the sound of gunshots. They rushed to the area and have now imposed a curfew to prevent news of the attack sparking further violence. State Governor Girish Chandra Saxena and a federal junior minister and local MP, Chaman Lal Gupta, also visited the area. "I received a telephone call which informed me that 17 people have been killed," Mr Gupta told journalists in Jammu. One survivor told journalists that the shepherds were abducted from makeshift shelters where they were resting, and were forced to accompany the attackers. Summit collapse After a few yards they were lined up and one of the suspected militants opened fire. Doda is a region which is 60% Muslim but has a substantial Hindu population. Last month, suspected militants shot dead 15 Hindu pilgrims in Doda district just days after a summit between India and Pakistan collapsed, apparently over the Kashmir dispute. Soon after the summit's failure, separatist militants said they would step up attacks against Indian forces in Kashmir. ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
