In Indian-administered Kashmir, 10 people died in a week

Indian servicemen launch search after shooting in Dagiri village, Kashmir region (January 2, 2023)

Local officials in Kashmir say explosions and gunfire in Indian-controlled Kashmir have killed 10 people in recent days.

A bomb exploded in the Rajouri district on Monday, killing two children and wounding five other civilians. Local police said unidentified militants shot at homes in the village of Danger a day earlier, killing four people.

Fighting broke out at a checkpoint in Jammu on Wednesday and four attackers died, officials said.

The attacks took place mainly in Hindu ghettos.

Manoj Sinha, the appointed deputy governor of New Delhi in Jammu and Kashmir, announced a pension of about $12,000 for the immediate family of every civilian killed in the recent attacks.

The attacks led to protests in Kashmir such as Rajouri, and Indian officials pledged swift action against the rebels.

Meanwhile, protests against power cuts were held elsewhere in Kashmir.

India stripped Kashmir, India’s only predominantly Muslim state, of its constitutional autonomy in 2019, bringing it under direct federal jurisdiction and deploying about 500,000 troops to suppress local anti-Indian militant activity.

More than 170 suspected rebels and 26 members of the Indian security forces were killed in Kashmir last year.

India accuses neighboring Pakistan of supporting anti-Indian militants in Kashmir, which Pakistan denies.

Indian authorities last month confirmed the confiscation of the property of several Muslim leaders in Kashmir who oppose Indian rule.

Since the partition of India and Pakistan, the status of Kashmir has been hotly disputed between the two countries, and several battles have taken place over it.

(Part of this article is based on an AFP report.)