Srinagar, Kashmir – Pro-independence protesters and police have clashed in Indian-controlled Kashmir, resulting in nine deaths. Four were killed by bullets when police fired into the protesters and another five died from an explosive blast when the protesters set fire to a police station. One of those killed was a young girl. A police officer told Reuters, “So far four people have died of bullet wounds and five have died when an ammunition dump went off after an angry mob torched a police camp.” A further 35 people were injured by the explosion.

Police and soldiers are patrolling the streets of Kashmir warning residents to stay indoors as the Government pleads for calm. A statement from the Government read, “Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appealed to all sections of the society to extend their wholehearted cooperation in restoration of peace and normalcy in the valley.”

The current protests are the worst seen in Kashmir in the last two years, with over 27 people being killed in the last six weeks.
Government buildings and police and military vehicles were set alight in by protesters in nearby Pampore after news of the deaths spread. The protesters were shouting, “Go India go! We want freedom!” In Sopore people set fire to a railway station.
Earlier in the week Jammu and Kashmir Law Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar had accused the Indian Police of using excessive force when dealing with protestors.