SRINAGAR: Government forces in India-held Kashmir fired bullets and shotgun pellets on Tuesday to break up protests demanding an end to Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region, injuring at least 14 people, officials said.

Police said the troops fired after villagers pelted them with stones in the southern Shopian area while they were clearing roadblocks set up by anti-India protesters in about half a dozen villages.

However, local residents said the clashes erupted after troops fired tear gas indiscriminately to intimidate villagers while moving through the villages. They said the agitated villagers objected and retaliated with rocks, and the troops responded by firing live ammunition and shotgun pellets.

Bashir Ahmed Chak, a villager whose young son was among the injured, said it was a “premeditated attack” by the troops. The injured were hospitalised.

Clashes were also reported from at least two places in the northern Bandipore area, where a woman was injured. The killing of a popular militant commander on July 8 has sparked some of Kashmir’s largest protests against Indian rule in recent years.

At least 65 civilians have been killed and thousands injured, mostly by government forces firing bullets and shotguns at rock-throwing protesters. Two policemen have also been killed and hundreds of security personnel have been injured in the clashes.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2016