SRINAGAR: Students protesting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir clashed with government forces on Thursday after authorities reopened schools following the killings of 13 rebels and five civilians.
Government forces fired tear gas to stop students from marching at several colleges in Indian-controlled Kashmir's main city of Srinagar. The students chanted anti-India slogans and marched on the streets in the city center while demanding an end of Indian rule over the region.
Clashes also erupted in other parts of Kashmir as students hurled rocks at police and paramilitary soldiers. They also burned a police bunker in Srinagar.
Some students were reportedly injured in the clashes.
The students were protesting the killings of 13 rebels and five civilians on Sunday in fighting with Indian troops. At least three Indian soldiers were also killed in the fighting, which was followed by a security clampdown and a strike called by separatists who challenge India's sovereignty over Kashmir.
Authorities shut schools and colleges and canceled university exams in an attempt to stop protests by students.
Earlier Thursday, businesses and shops reopened and public transport resumed operating in the region after four days.
In recent years, Kashmiris, mainly students, have displayed open solidarity with anti-India rebels and sought to protect them by engaging troops in street clashes during military operations against the militants. The protests have persisted despite the Indian army chief warning that tough action would be taken against stone-throwers during counterinsurgency operations.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, which in recent years has seen renewed rebel attacks and repeated public protests against Indian rule.
Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since 1989, demanding Kashmir be made part of Pakistan or become an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.
Most Kashmiris support the rebels' cause while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.
Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.
Kashmir students clash with India police after lockdown ends
Kashmir students clash with India police after lockdown ends
- Students chanted anti-India slogans and marched on the streets in the city center while demanding an end of Indian rule over disputed Kashmir.
- They were protesting the killings of 13 rebels and five civilians on Sunday in fighting with Indian troops.
Nigerian president vows security reset in budget speech
- Government plans to buy 'cutting-edge' equipment to boost the fighting capability of military
ABUJA: Nigeria’s president vowed a national security overhaul as he presented the government budget, allocating the largest share of spending to defense after criticism over the handling of the country’s myriad conflicts.
Nigeria faces a long-running insurgency in the northeast, while armed “bandit” gangs commit mass kidnappings and loot villages in the northwest, and farmers and herders clash in the center over dwindling land and resources.
President Bola Tinubu last month declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered mass recruitment of police and military personnel to combat mass abductions, which have included the kidnapping of hundreds of children at their boarding school.
He told the Senate that his government plans to increase security spending to boost the “fighting capability” of the military and other security agencies by hiring more personnel and buying “cutting-edge” equipment.
Tinubu promised to “usher in a new era of criminal justice” that would treat all violence by armed groups or individuals as terrorism, as he allocated 5.41 trillion naira ($3.7 billion) for defense and security.
Security officials and analysts say there is an increasing alliance between bandits and extremists from Nigeria’s northeast, who have in recent years established a strong presence in the northwestern and central regions.
“Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists,” said Tinubu, singling out, among others, bandits, militias, armed gangs, armed robbers, violent cult groups, and foreign-linked mercenaries.
He said those involved in political or sectarian violence would also be classified as terrorists.
On the economic front, Tinubu hailed his “necessary” but not “painless” reforms that have plunged Nigeria into its worst economic crisis in a generation.
He said inflation has “moderated” for eight successive months, declining to 14.45 percent in the last month from 24.23 percent in March this year.
He projected that the budget deficit will drop next year to 4.28 percent of GDP from around 6.1 percent of GDP in 2023, the year he came into office.
