Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred seven more Kashmiri youth in Shopian district on Sunday .
According to Kashmir Media Service(KMS), the youth were killed by the troops during cordon and search operations and firing on protesters at Batagund in Kapran area of the district, early this morning.
Six youth were killed when troops associated with 34-Rashtriya Rifles of Indian army, Central Reserve Police Force and Special Operational Group destroyed a house during the operation.
The bodies of the six martyred youth were found from the debris of the destroyed house. Five of them were identified as Umar Majid Ganai, Waseem Wagay, Abbas Sheikh, Mushtaq Ahmad Mir and Khalid Farooq Malik, while the identity of the six youth could not be ascertained.
Another youth was killed when the troops opened indiscriminate fire on the people protesting against the killings in the area. The martyred youth was identified as Nauman Ashraf Butt, resident of Kulgam. He was hit by bullet and was shifted to Kulgam district hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. Dozens of youth, some critically, were also injured in forces’ operation.
Speaking to the media, a senior police official said that six freedom fighters were killed in the assault.
Authorities initially recovered four bodies and the remaining two were found from the debris of the destroyed house. The identity of the dead is yet to be ascertained while the operation is still going on, the official added.
The internet services have also been suspended in the district and other areas of the south Kashmir.
Earlier in the day, an Indian soldier was also killed and another injured in an attack in Kapran area of Shopian district.
Earlier this year, in June, a United Nations report accused India of having used excessive force in occupied Kashmir to martyr and wound civilians since 2016, as it called for an international inquiry into the accusations of rights violations.
Activists estimate that up to 145 civilians were martyred by security forces and up to 20 civilians martyred by armed groups in the same period, it said.
India rejected the report, calling it a “selective compilation of largely unverified information” that sought to build “a false narrative”, adding that it violated the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
