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Friday, September 20, 2024  
15 Rabi ul Awal 1446  

IHK to impose curfew, use drones for vigil

-File Photo -File Photo

Indian-held Kashmir will impose a curfew during the Eid festival starting from Tuesday and will use drones and choppers for air surveillance to limit any violence in the strife-torn state.

Seventy-six protesters have been killed and more than 7,000 wounded in clashes since July in the worst violence in six years in the disputed territory. Two police officers and more than 5,000 security personnel have been wounded. Authorities decided to impose a curfew and keep an aerial watch after reviewing the situation ahead of the festival, a police spokesman said on Monday.

On Tuesday, Kashmiri leaders are scheduled to march to the United Nations Military Observers Group India Pakistan (UNMOGIP) Office in occupied Srinagar, the state capital.

"It has become imperative to impose a strict curfew . . . in view of the separatist march," the spokesman said.

Mobile internet and cell phone services have been partially blocked ahead of the festival, the second such disruption since July 9, the day after security services shot dead Burhan Wani, a 22-year-old militant known for his calls to arms on social media.

Wani led Hizb-ul Mujahideen, prominent among the groups fighting Indian control of the majority Muslim region.

Copyright Reuters, 2016