Kashmir Protests Turn Deadly
VOA News
13 September 2010
Clashes between security forces and protesters in India-controlled Kashmir killed a policeman and at least 13 people on Monday as crowds defied a curfew after reports surfaced that Qurans had been desecrated in the United States, according to Indian authorities.
Indian officials said a policemen was among those killed during street protests in Srinagar. Police also opened fired when a mob torched a Christian-run school in Tangmarg village, killing at least five protesters.
The demonstrations were fueled, in part, by reports on an Iranian state-run channel that a handful of ultra-conservative Christians in the United States had burned or ripped Qurans. A conservative pastor in Florida decided to cancel plans to burn Qurans on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks after an outpouring of condemnation from national and international officials.
On Sunday, authorities imposed a curfew in Srinagar and other parts of the region, a day after demonstrators burned buildings in protests against New Delhi's rule.
Police have accused the region's main separatist leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, of instigating violence. Farooq denies the charges.
Kashmir has been gripped by nearly three months of protest against Indian rule. At least 69 demonstrators have been killed in the unrest, many after security forces opened fire on stone-throwing crowds.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the Muslim-majority region. Groups of Kashmiri separatists have fought for decades to win independence from India or a merger with Muslim-majority Pakistan.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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