SRINAGAR: Large parts of Indian Kashmir closed down Saturday to protest a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Muslim-majority region gripped by deadly new tensions and clashes with rival Pakistan.
Shops shut and the main streets of the main city, Srinagar, were empty except for police and paramilitary patrols while authorities laid on maximum security for Modi’s one-day visit.
Authorities cut mobile Internet services in the region and imposed a curfew in parts of Srinigar.
Separatist groups opposed to Indian rule of Kashmir have called for a strike and a protest march to a city square. Main roads and the square were barricaded by razor wire to stop anyone getting in.
“We are not taking any chances. We’ll do everything to keep the militants at bay,” a top police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Authorities also ordered schools, colleges and universities shut for the day apprehending student protests.
The main venue for the prime minister’s visit to Srinigar, the Dal Lake tourist attraction, was made out of bounds to the public.
Modi started the tour in Leh, a remote high altitude desert area of the disputed territory popular with trekkers.
“I thank the wonderful people of Leh for the warm welcome. I am delighted to be here,” Modi said on Twitter.
The visit came a day after eight civilians — four in India and four in Pakistan — and an Indian soldier were killed in a heavy mortar fire and gunbattle between Indian and Pakistani forces.
Modi was to go to Srinagar and the other main city of Jammu later in the day to inaugurate a hydropower project near the border with Pakistan.
Pakistan controls part of the divided territory and like India claims Kashmir in full.
India has ordered its estimated 500,000 troops in Kashmir to suspend military operations against rebels during the Ramadan holy month that started Wednesday.
But on top of the border clash, fighting with militants has not halted.
Late Friday, Indian troops killed three suspected militants close to the heavily militarised unofficial border with Pakistan in the northwest of the territory, media reports said.
Army officers, who were not named, were quoted as saying the militants attacked a patrol in a forest sparking a firefight. The incident could not be independently verified.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Rebel groups have since 1989 been fighting for an independent Kashmir or a merger with Pakistan.
Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.
Indian Kashmir shutdown to protest Modi visit
Indian Kashmir shutdown to protest Modi visit
- Shops shut and the main streets of the main city, Srinagar, were empty except for police and paramilitary patrols while authorities laid on maximum security for Modi’s one-day visit
- The visit came a day after eight civilians — four in India and four in Pakistan — and an Indian soldier were killed in a heavy mortar fire and gunbattle between Indian and Pakistani forces
9 African migrants died in freezing temperatures near Morocco-Algeria border
- Every year, thousands of migrants seeking better living conditions attempt to crossing illegal from North Africa to Europe
CASABLANCA, Morocco: Exposure to freezing temperatures near Morocco’s border with Algeria killed nine African migrants, a tragedy that rights groups in the North African country called deeply concerning and a violation of the right to freedom of movement.
The bodies of seven men and two women were found in Ras Asfour, a remote mountainous Moroccan area known for its plunging temperatures in winter, the Moroccan Association of Human Rights said Saturday in a statement.
“They died from extreme cold, which their exhausted bodies could not withstand,” it said.
One of the migrants was from Guinea, the group said. The rest were from various countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa, though specific information about their identities remains unknown. Morocco’s Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the individuals who died.
Every year, thousands of migrants seeking better living conditions attempt to crossing illegal from North Africa to Europe, including from Morocco to Spain. Some aim for Ceuta and Melilla – two tiny Spanish enclaves in North Africa – by scaling border fences or swimming. Others attempt to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, taking a longer route through the Atlantic Ocean.
The North African nation’s security forces regularly report blocking such attempts.
Throughout Europe and Africa, North Africa is known as a transit point for migrants en route to Europe’s southern border.
Security agreements with the European Union have strengthen authorities’ ability to deter migration in North Africa. Many who originally intended to migrate to Europe spend months or years working informally — doing construction, agriculture or domestic work. Others rely on aid while waiting for opportunities to cross the Mediterranean Sea or Atlantic Ocean.
The Moroccan Association of Human Rights statement said six of the bodies were buried last week and two were kept at the request of their relatives. “We will make sure that this case is followed up on,” it said.
The Moroccan Organization of Human Rights — a different association — earlier this week called for the humanization of borders, the decriminalization of illegal migration and residence, and the creation of a mechanism to track missing migrants to prevent tragedies like the one in Ras Asfour.
