Civilians killed in Kashmir clashes

Indian and Pakistani troops traded bullets and mortars in the Himalayan Kashmir region overnight into Wednesday, leaving at least three dead and more than a dozen injured, an Indian official said.

"We have a very serious situation at hand right now," Indian administrator Shantmanu, who only goes by one name, told the Associated Press news agency.

Pakistani security officials confirmed that the two sides had exchanged gunfire on Tuesday night. An Indian police official told Reuters that the shooting began after Pakistan's military attacked about 60 Indian army posts stationed along the border, and India retaliated.

"Pakistani rangers targeted the entire Jammu border during the night and the firing is still going on," said Indian police official Uttam Chand.

The violence has sent thousands of people who live along the 200-kilometer (124-mile) border between Pakistan's Punjab province and the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir fleeing from their homes.

There was no immediate information about casualties on the Pakistani side of Kashmir, although state-run Pakistani television said Wednesday that nine civilians had been killed in the past three days. Indian officials said seven had been killed on their side in during the same period.

The disputed Kashmir region is divided into two sections separately administered by India and Pakistan, but the nuclear-armed neighbors have fought over control of the Himalayan territory since independence from Britain in 1947.

Several thousand people were killed in conflicts between the two countries in 1947-48, 1965 and 1999. A ceasefire deal struck in 2003 put a stop to large confrontations, but there are still intermittent clashes along the de facto border, known as the Line of Control.

Violation of truce

The latest fighting, which flared up several days ago, marks the worst violation of the 2003 truce.

India has blamed Pakistan for starting the clashes, accusing its neighbor of providing weapons and financial support to separatists in Kashmir who have been driving an insurgency in the region since 1989. Pakistan has repeatedly denied this.

The Pakistan military said Tuesday it had lodged a complaint with the United Nations Observers Group in India and Pakistan, accusing India of starting the latest violence. It said the group planned to visit the area soon.

"We call upon the Indian government to immediately cease fire and shelling and help us preserve tranquility," said a statement from Sartaj Aziz, the national security adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

nm/kms (dpa, Reuters, AP)