Hundreds detained in IIOJK after teachers shot dead

Human Rights Watch calls for alleged perpetrators as well as Indian forces accused of abuses to be held accountable

SRINAGAR:

Hundreds of people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have been detained by police investigating a spate of targeted killings by suspected rebels, officials told AFP on Sunday.

Tensions have been heightened in the Muslim-majority region after New Delhi revoked IIOJK’s semi-autonomous status in August 2019 and brought it under direct rule.

Seven civilians were shot dead in six days last week, sparking public outrage in IIOJK and across India.

Politicians from all sides condemned the killings.

Nearly 500 residents suspected to have links with the rebel groups were detained across the occupied territory following the shootings, a senior police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"No stone will be left unturned to find the killers," the officer added.

A top anti-terrorism intelligence officer was sent by New Delhi to the occupied region to head up the investigation.

India's counter-terrorism task force, the National Investigation Agency, summoned 40 schoolteachers in the main city of Srinagar for questioning on Sunday, officials said.

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Authorities say at least 29 civilians — including workers from pro-India political parties — have been shot dead in IIOJK so far this year.

Twenty-two of them were Muslims, officials added.

The latest deaths were two teachers from the minority Sikh and Hindu communities, who were shot by gunmen at a government-run school in Srinagar on Thursday.

Another man was shot dead by occupation forces on Thursday when his car did not stop at a checkpoint.

Their deaths came two days after three civilians were killed in separate street shootings within 90 minutes.

A relatively new rebel group The Resistance Front has claimed responsibility for the latest deaths and accused those killed of working for "occupier mercenary forces and occupier stooges".

The statements, issued only in English, were circulated in numerous WhatsApp groups. They could not be independently verified by AFP.

The killings have instilled fear among IIOJK’s minorities, with local media reporting that many were fleeing the region.

On Saturday, Human Rights Watch called for the alleged perpetrators as well as Indian occupation forces accused of abuses including harassment, torture and extrajudicial killings to be held accountable for their actions.

"Kashmiris are caught in unending violence from attacks by militants and abuses by [Indian] government authorities and security forces," HRW's South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly said in a statement.

Rebel groups have been fighting Indian soldiers for over three decades, demanding independence for Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan.

The conflict has left tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels dead.