India, Pakistan skirmish kills 9 civilians, injures 25

[GBCW 397]

India, Pakistan skirmish at LoC kills 9 civilians

ISLAMABAD: Nine civilians were killed and at least 25 wounded on Monday in fighting along a stretch of the disputed border between India and Pakistan in the Kashmir region.

An Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement issued on Monday said that Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) personnel resorted to “unprovoked firing” along the working boundary in Sialkot.

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Four civilians, including two children and a woman, were killed on the first day of Eidul Azha, the statement said, adding that “Pakistan Rangers have effectively responded to BSF fire.” Indian forces also resorted to unprovoked firing on LoC in Nikial, Karela, Kot Kettera, Hot Spring and Jandrot sectors, the statement added.

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Earlier on Sunday, Indian troops violated the Line of Control (loC) ceasefire and resorted to unprovoked firing in Jandroot Sector near Kotli.

Inspector general of the Indian BSF, Rakesh Kumar, alleged however that Pakistani forces shelled the village of Arnia about three km (two miles) from the border in the early hours of Monday, killing five and wounding at least two dozen civilians.

Another Indian officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Brijesh Panday, said the army later shot dead three alleged militants trying to cross into India further along the heavily militarised LoC. Two alleged militants escaped to Pakistan, he said.

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The defense and military authorities of both Pakistan and India have vowed to give a “befitting” response to border skirmishes.

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Tens of thousands of villagers fled their homes in Kashmir on Monday, as Indian and Pakistani troops bombarded each other with gunfire and mortar.

“First we heard gunshots,” said Akshit Kumar, a resident of Arnia, a town in Indian-administered Kashmir.

“But as the shelling started, that's when we decided to flee.”

On the Indian side, officials were evacuating tens of thousands of people from Arnia and nearby villages to underground bunkers and government shelters.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1136563/india-pakistan-skirmish-at-loc-kills-9-civilians

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What's the fighting about here?

[GBCW 397]

It's complicated but the predominant (not only) factor is religion.