HELD SRINAGAR: Young men sit beside a pile of rocks and a bonfire, protecting the only entrance to a besieged neighbourhood they call “Kashmir’s Gaza” as a mosque loudspeaker broadcasts slogans of liberation.In an act of defiance against New Delhi’s illegal decision to strip the Muslim-majority disputed region of its autonomy, Soura neighbourhood on the outskirts of Indian-held Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar has sealed itself off from security forces.Since early August, residents have erected ramshackle barricades of tin sheets, wooden logs, oil tanks and concrete pillars, and dug trenches to keep soldiers at bay amid daily protests against India. “They can only enter Soura over our bodies. We won’t give even an inch of land to India,” Mufeed, a resident who volunteers to guard the neighbourhood at night, told AFP.“Just like Gaza is resisting Israel, we will fight for our motherland with all our might,” Mufeed added. Ahead of the announcement, India rushed tens of thousands of extra troops to the restive region to join 500,000 already in the valley, and imposed a strict clampdown fearing further unrest.But protests have broken out, with the lower-middle class Soura leading the way. At least 15,000 people rallied on August 9 — the biggest demonstration in Kashmir so far. They were met by security forces firing live ammunition, tear gas and pellet guns to disperse the crowds, with more than two dozen people reportedly injured.
08-23-2019, 08:36 AM
?We won?t give an inch?: India faces defiance in ?Kashmir?s Gaza?
العرض الشجري