Curfew, strikes in IoK after suspected militant's death

Residents were ordered to stay indoors, obey curfew

SRINAGAR: A complete lock down was observed in Indian-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday after three Kashmiri separatist leaders called for a strike following the death of Abu Dujana, a senior rebel fighter suspected to be aligned with militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba [LeT].

His death, heralded by Indian forces as "a major achievement", sparked protests and clashes with government forces across the Kashmir Valley during which a young man was killed and scores injured.



A second protester died in hospital on Wednesday. His funeral was attended by hundreds of mourners who pelted Indian soldiers with stones and chanted slogans calling for independence, witnesses said.

Dujana's death has dealt one of the biggest blows to Kashmiri separatists since a charismatic young commander, Burhan Wani, was shot dead in July last year. Wani's killing sparked months of widespread protests against Indian rule and left nearly 100 civilians dead and thousands injured.

Since then protesters - sometimes entire villages - have increasingly taken to the streets, hurling stones at soldiers to help militants evade capture or death.



Groups, including LeT, have for decades fought roughly 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the territory, demanding independence or merger with Pakistan. Tens of thousands, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.

Fearing violent reprisals, Indian forces enforced a curfew, ordering residents to stay indoors as government forces patrolled streets lined with steel barriers and razor wires.

"I was not allowed by soldiers to leave home for work. They are right outside my door," Gulzar Ahmed, a mechanic, told AFP by phone from his house in downtown Srinagar.

Schools and colleges were ordered shut for a second day to try to avert student protests against Indian rule, which frequently erupt into stone-throwing and clashes with troops.