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13.08.2008 - Kashmir curfew is relaxed briefly

In Indian-administered Kashmir, a curfew has been relaxed a day after at least 11 people were killed when troops fired at protesters, officials say.

People in the city of Srinagar rushed to buy supplies as police and troops patrolled the streets.

The news are represented by www.info-turkey.ru

Thousands defied the curfew in Srinagar and towns across the Kashmir valley on Tuesday to join the protests.

The curfew was imposed ahead of the burial of a senior separatist who died after police opened fire on Monday.

Protests and counter-protests have been taking place for weeks in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley and in the mainly Hindu region around the city of Jammu further south.

The demonstrations in the valley are some of the biggest since a separatist rebellion against Indian rule broke out nearly 20 years ago.

More than 20 people - Muslims and Hindus - have been killed and hundreds wounded in clashes with police since the unrest began in June.

Tensions are rising and threaten peace hopes after years of relative calm.

The BBC's Chris Morris in Delhi says Kashmir is now dangerously polarised, in a dispute which began over the control of a small piece of land.

A curfew was imposed in all 10 districts in the Kashmir valley on Tuesday for the first time in 13 years.

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Police and paramilitary forces are patrolling the streets of Srinagar to prevent a repeat of Tuesday's violence, police inspector Sajad Ahmed said.

He said that the indefinite curfew was lifted for three hours on Wednesday.

Mr Ahmed said authorities would consider lifting the curfew again later on Wednesday if the situation remained calm.

On Tuesday, security forces opened fire on a number of protests by Muslims who defied the curfew.

The army fired to disperse a procession in the northern district of Bandipora, killing three people and injuring five. Three other people were killed in the Lasjan and Rainawari areas.

Shops, businesses, schools and colleges in the valley were closed and senior Kashmiri separatist leaders were under house arrest.

Large crowds turned out to attend the funeral of Sheikh Aziz, a prominent leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, an umbrella of separatist groups which opposes Indian rule.

Sheikh Aziz was killed on Monday in police firing.

Police say they are trying to find out why security forces opened fire on protesters on Monday.

They say several police personnel were injured by stones thrown by those at the protest.

In the Hindu-majority Jammu region, one person was killed and more than a dozen injured after Hindus and Muslims clashed in the town of Kishtwar.

Houses, vehicles and other property were damaged before police opened fire to restore order.

Violent demonstrations began two months ago in the state when a decision to transfer a small area of land to the trust which runs a Hindu shrine provoked an angry Muslim reaction.

When the land transfer was abandoned, groups from the state's Hindu minority began furious protests of their own.



(BBC)

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