India security forces open fire at Kashmir funeral, 11 injured

At least 11 people have been injured after Indian security forces opened fire on mourners, who were attending the funeral of two rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Zeenat ul-Islam was killed along with his associate on Saturday in a gun battle with Indian troops.

Thousands of people on Sunday marched towards his village, Sugan in Shopian district, to offer funeral prayers despite the barricades and deployment of troops along the way.

To stop people from joining the funeral prayers, government forces fired bullets, shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the mourners, leading to street clashes as groups of youths pelted stones at the troops, police and residents said.

According to Anadolu Agency, six injured were brought to the district hospital in Pulwama.

One of the injured is in critical condition, according to local media reports.

Both India and Pakistan claim the territory of Kashmir in its entirety but they control parts of the Himalayan region.

Rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. Most Kashmiris support the rebel cause that the territory stays united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. 

The disputed territory, over which India and Pakistan have fought three wars, is currently under the president’s rule after India dissolved the state assembly in November.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Islamabad denies.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.

According to rights groups, 2018 was the country’s most deadly year in almost a decade.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies