Rajouri: Tension in Kashmir after five killed
Image credit: BBC
Following the deaths of five civilians in two different attacks in the same location in less than 24 hours, tensions are high in some areas of Kashmir, which is administered by India.
In Rajouri district on Sunday night, militants opened fire on three homes, leaving four people dead and nine others injured.
A blast that happened close to these dwellings on Monday resulted in one child’s death and four injuries.
The explosion’s origin was not immediately apparent. An investigation into the incidents has been launched by senior police officers.
The attack on Sunday resulted in protests and strikes in Rajouri, where residents blamed the local government for the security breakdown.
The administrative leader of the area, Manoj Sinha, has denounced “the heinous terror assault in Rajouri” and made a financial aid announcement for the victims’ families.
On Monday, he wrote, “I guarantee the people that those responsible for this horrible act will not go unpunished.”
India and Pakistan, who both claim the entire Himalayan territory of Kashmir but only control portions of it, are engaged in a bitter dispute over it. Since 1947, the year that India was divided and Pakistan was established, the nuclear-armed neighbours have engaged in two wars and a smaller battle over Kashmir.
An armed uprising against Indian control in the area has been going on for more than three decades, costing tens of thousands of lives.
India holds Pakistan responsible for igniting the violence by supporting terrorist separatists in Kashmir; Islamabad refutes this accusation.
Before the federal government revoked its autonomy and split Jammu and Kashmir into two separate territories in August 2019, it was the only Muslim-majority state in India.
In Kashmir, which has a Muslim majority, the four people killed on Sunday were members of the minority Hindu community.
Hindus in Kashmir have been targeted by terrorists and slain multiple times over the past year, instilling panic throughout the community.
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