Kashmir simmers again after 3 civilians are killed in clashes

The situation in Kashmir turned for the worse on Tuesday after three civilians were killed and 18 injured as security forces clashed with stone-pelters trying to disrupt an anti-militancy operation.

One militant was killed in the operation in south Kashmir's Budgam.

Greater Kashmir quoted witnesses as saying that a mob approached the outer cordon of the operation and pelted them with stones and bricks. The reports further adds that the security personnel fired in the air and tried to disperse the mob, but the crowd chanted pro-azadi slogans and clashed with the security forces.

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The separatists have called for a shut down in Kashmir, voicing their strong disapproval of the killing of civilians.

Extra forces have been deployed in sensitive areas in view of the strike called by separatists, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

Shops, business establishments and fuel stations were shut, while educational institutions remained closed because of the strike, PTI quoted officials as saying.

The incident has generated intense political reactions, with Farooq Abdullah, president of the main opposition party National Conference, slamming the People's Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party(PDP-BJP) alliance government and calling for an end to the "era of bloodbath".

The chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti,said that the people of Kashmir have had to “suffer massive collateral damage due to violence of the past three decades or so", reported Greater Kashmir.

In February, the Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat said that those pelting stones at the security forces during encounters will be treated as aides of militants.

(WION with inputs from agencies)