Clashes erupt after top Kashmir rebel is killed

A civilian was killed after clashes broke out between protesters and government forces following the death of a top rebel commander in Jammu and Kashmir, police said yesterday.Authorities imposed a curfew in many parts of Srinagar as violence spread across the state after Sabzar Ahmad Bhat’s death yesterday.Bhat, head of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group, was killed in a gunfight with government forces in Tral area, some 40km south of Srinagar.One of Bhat’s fighters was also killed in the gunbattle, which erupted late Friday after government forces cordoned off a village following an intelligence tip-off.Police said hundreds of villagers tried to break the cordon by throwing rocks at security forces.A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the protester was killed after troops opened fire on the villagers.At least three other protesters sustained bullet injuries in the clashes.The nearly 16-hour gunfight ended early yesterday when Bhat and his associate were killed.“Yes, both of them were gunned down and the operation is still going on,” police chief Shesh Pal Vaid said.Hizbul Mujahideen is the largest indigenous rebel group fighting against Indian rule in the state since an armed rebellion broke out in 1989.Bhat succeeded charismatic militant leader Burhan Wani after he was killed in a gunfight in July, which triggered months of anti-India protests in which nearly 100 people died.Wani’s popularity grew after he extensively used social media to post pictures of himself and of other gun-wielding young militants in army fatigues to attract new recruits for the rebel group that has seen its ranks swell in recent years.The separatist Hurriyat Conference has called for a two-day shutdown to protest the killing of Bhat and also called for a “March to Tral” on May 30.Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik visited Bhat’s native village of Rutsana and met the militant’s mother to express condolences. He also attended the funeral of Faizan Ahmed, another militant killed along with Bhat, in the village, which saw hundreds gathered.“The bodies of Bhat and his accomplice identified as Faizan Ahmad have been retrieved and identified,” police said.As news of the killing spread, a spontaneous shutdown was observed in all districts and major towns of the Valley and protests started in Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam, Pulwama, Badgam, Ganderbal, Srinagar and Kupwara.Public transport went off the roads throughout the Valley as people rushed home in their private vehicles while others walked long distances. Schools and colleges were also shut.Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti held a meeting of top security and intelligence officials to ensure that the situation does not flare up like it did in the aftermath of Wani’s killing last year when 94 civilian protesters were killed in the nearly six-month long unrest that followed.She asked the officials to ensure that law and order is fully maintained and also that there are no civilian casualties.Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the predominantly Kashmir Valley, one of the world’s most heavily militarised areas, where most people favour independence or a merger with Pakistan.In a separate incident yesterday, the army said it had killed six militants who had infiltrated across the border from Pakistan.Two suspected militants were killed in the same region on Friday, the army said.Several armed rebel groups are fighting against Indian rule, with tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians, killed in the nearly three decades-old conflict.