India accuses Pakistan of fresh cross-border attack
Iran Press TV
Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:55PM GMT
Indian government has accused Pakistani troops of attacking military posts along the de facto border which divides the disputed region of Kashmir.
Border Security Force spokesman, Vinod Yadav, said the Pakistani forces fired mortars on at least 50 Indian border posts on Tuesday night, accusing Pakistani forces of unprovoked firing.
Security sources say at least one guard was killed and six injured in the fatal incident.
Meanwhile, local Indian police officer, Rajesh Kumar, said at least 100 civilians were being moved from the villages of Arnia and Ramgarh near the frontier.
The violence comes after Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde visited the region to review security.
Some reports say Indian military soldiers responded to the shelling, and the exchange of fire continued for several hours.
Pakistani authorities have yet to react to the allegations.
Tensions have been high since August after five Indian soldiers were killed in an ambush near the border. New Delhi has accused Pakistan's army of being involved in an overnight ambush that killed five Indian soldiers on August 6.
The latest attack has been described as the most serious violation of the 2003 cease-fire between the two neighbors in the past decade. The border clashes also threaten to torpedo recent overtures by the two countries to resume bilateral peace talks, which have been frozen since January.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but is claimed in full by both parties. The two countries have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947 -- two of them over Kashmir.
Thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir unrest over the past two decades.
JR/SS/SL
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
