The government forces in Indian-administered Kashmir killed six people in two incidents overnight, police said Thursday, rounding off another bloody year in the restive territory. Two soldiers and a policeman were wounded in the clashes, a law enforcement officer told AFP.
Officials say that at least 380 militants, nearly 100 civilians, and over 80 security forces personnel have been killed in the region since August 2019.
That was when New Delhi revoked the region’s limited autonomy and brought it under direct rule, adding to anger among locals and galvanizing support for self-determination.
This year the death toll was 264, compared to 321 in 2020, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal. Police say that with intensified military operations against the rebels, the number of local fighters has dropped to fewer than 100 for the first time in a decade.
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned the extra-judicial killing of six Kashmiri youth in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian occupation forces in the last two days.
In the escalating campaign of repression in IIOJK, including fake encounters and so-called cordon-and-search-operations, at least 24 Kashmiris have been martyred in the month of December so far.
Equally reprehensible are the continuing human rights violations in IIOJK, including arbitrary detentions, humiliation and harassment of Kashmiris.
The international community must take cognizance of the deteriorating situation in IIOJK and hold India accountable for its unrelenting oppression of Kashmiris with total impunity in complete disregard of international law. It is equally important that relevant international, UN and OIC human rights bodies thoroughly investigate incidents of fake encounters in IIOJK including the one in Hyderpora in November 2021 – in which the Indian occupation forces are now desperately trying to cover up the massacre of 4 Kashmiris through fabrication and lies.
