Indian Soldiers Engages Kashmir Rebels In Gun Battle

Indian forces battle and killed suspected rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir, days after rebels killed two members of a government-backed militia, according to the army.

Security forces were engaged in two separate gun battles – one in the Chaas area of Kishtwar district in the southern Jammu region and the other one in Baramulla district north of Srinagar, the capital of the disputed Kashmir region, according to Indian media reports.

The gun battles come days after rebels killed two members of a government-run militia, called the Village Defense Group, in Kishtwar on Thursday. The Kashmir Tigers armed group claimed responsibility for the killings in a statement on social media.

Separatists have been demanding either independence or to merge with Pakistan. Many Muslim Kashmiris also support the goals of the rebels. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed as India deployed more than 500,000 soldiers to quell the rebellion.

New Delhi has often blamed Pakistan for supplying the rebels with weapons and helping them launch attacks, which Islamabad denies.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety but govern only part of it. They have fought two wars over the Himalayan territory, which has witnessed decades-long armed rebellion against Indian rule.

Increased Attacks

Since October, rebel groups and Indian forces have exchanged fire, including an attack on an army convoy and firing on a construction camp, in which seven people were killed.

Last week, a rebel hurled a grenade at a busy market in the central city of Srinagar, wounding 12 people.

On Friday, the Indian military said a team of soldiers and police raided a village near northwestern Sopore town following a tip about the presence of armed rebels.

The military said in a statement that rebels “fired indiscriminately” at the troops, which led to a gun battle, killing two fighters. Earlier, officials said two members of the Village Defence Group were killed by rebels in the southern Kishtwar area late on Thursday.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the attack on X, saying, “I expect the security forces to move quickly to plug any gaps in our counter-terror grid & ensure that attacks like this stop completely.”

On Wednesday, Kashmir’s newly elected regional assembly passed a resolution demanding that New Delhi restore its partial autonomy, which was stripped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2019.

New Delhi stripped Kashmir of its special status in a sudden decision which was accompanied by mass arrests and a months-long communications blackout.

The Indian government slammed the resolution. “No power in the world can restore Article 370 [of the Constitution, pertaining to partial autonomy] in Kashmir,” Modi said on Wednesday.

Al Jazeera/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma