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Thousands Protest Indian Kashmir Killing

   The  protesters  say  soldiers  shot  Mushtaq Ahmed Mir during a clash
   between Muslim militants and Indian troops

   VOA News 24 January 2010
   Kashmiri villagers carry the body of a local businessman Mushtaq Ahmed
   Mir during a protest in Shadi Marg, south of Srinagar, 24 Jan 2009

Photo: AP

   Kashmiri villagers carry the body of a local businessman Mushtaq Ahmed
   Mir during a protest in Shadi Marg, south of Srinagar, 24 Jan 2009

   Thousands   of   people   protested   Sunday   in   the   streets   of
   Indian-controlled  Kashmir,  accusing  the  Indian  army  of killing a
   civilian.
   Police say Mushtaq Ahmed Mir was killed late Saturday in the crossfire
   during a clash between Muslim militants and Indian troops.
   The protesters say soldiers shot Mir in the conflict.
   In  an incident Friday, police say one civilian was killed and several
   people  were  wounded  when  law  enforcement  officers opened fire on
   demonstrators in the same region.
   Investigators  say  the  protest  erupted   after police set up a road
   block in a village about 30 kilometers north of Srinagar, the region's
   largest city.  Demonstrators complained  the barrier blocked the route
   to a Muslim shrine.
   Anti-India  sentiment  is  strong in Muslim-majority Kashmir.  Islamic
   separatists   in  the  region  have  been  fighting  for  decades  for
   independence from India or a merger with Muslim-majority Pakistan.


   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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