SRINAGAR, India, (Reuters) – Thousands of Indians fled their homes in the disputed Kashmir region yesterday as Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire again, a day after the highest civilian death toll in a single day in more than a decade.
The mostly Muslim, Himalayan region of Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan and has been a major focus of tension in South Asia. The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought two wars over the territory and clashes break out regularly along their de facto border, the so-called Line of Control.
About 7,000 villagers living around the village of Arnia area in Indian-controlled Kashmir gathered in schools after five Indian civilians were killed and dozens injured in shelling by Pakistani forces close to the border on Monday, according to Shantmanu, a government official in Jammu, a region of Kashmir.
“No one is able to sleep, not even the children. Everyone is hiding and is scared. Bombs are falling through roofs, we can’t sleep under our own roofs, and we have to stay outside,” a villager called Swardin said.
The Indian and Pakistani militaries have traded machine-gun fire and mortar attacks for about a week, in skirmishes that cast a shadow over attempts to improve ties between the rivals.
Pakistan forces fired at 40 Indian army posts early on Tuesday, said Uttam Chand, an Indian police official. Indian forces retaliated with gunfire and mortar bombs, he said.
India and Pakistan continued to exchange small-arms fire in the Poonch area on Tuesday afternoon, according to lieutenant colonel Manish Mehta, a spokesman for the Indian army.
