JAMMU, India, Sept 15 (AFP): Violence spread to new areas of Indian Kashmir Wednesday, with three more protesters shot dead by police, as the government held crisis talks in New Delhi to tackle the escalating unrest.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was "shocked and distressed" by the demonstrations engulfing the disputed Himalayan area, where 18 people died on Monday in the bloodiest day in three months of protests.
On Wednesday, police opened fire on a rally in the previously quiet town of Mendhar, a Muslim settlement in a Hindu-dominated area in the south of the region, about 210 kilometres (130 miles) from the town of Jammu.
"As the situation went out of control, police opened fire to disperse the mob in which three protesters were killed and at least 25 others were injured," said a police spokesman in Jammu, asking not to be named.
For three months, young Kashmiris have thrown stones at security forces, defied strict curfews and held anti-India rallies, resulting in clashes that have now left 91 people dead.
But since the weekend, the violence has risen in intensity, with mob attacks and arson taking place, apparently fuelled by reports about the desecration of the Koran by a small group of Christians in Washington on Saturday.
Police in Jammu said the crowd had tried to attack a Catholic school in Mendhar.
Speaking at the start of a meeting of all major political parties in New Delhi on Wednesday, Singh said dialogue was the only way out of the crisis but that peace and calm had to be restored first.
World News / বিশ্ব সংবাদ
Three dead in fresh Kashmir unrest, India seeks solution
September 17th, 2010634 views