INDIA: DOZENS OF VILLAGES DESERTED IN BORDER AREAS DUE TO SHELLING BY PAKISTANI TROOPS
Record ID:
1374342
INDIA: DOZENS OF VILLAGES DESERTED IN BORDER AREAS DUE TO SHELLING BY PAKISTANI TROOPS
- Title: INDIA: DOZENS OF VILLAGES DESERTED IN BORDER AREAS DUE TO SHELLING BY PAKISTANI TROOPS
- Date: 26th May 2002
- Summary: BABIYA VILLAGE, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA (MAY 24, 2002) (ANI) SLV PAKISTAN ARMY OBSERVATION POST ACROSS BORDER; ZOOM OUT TO A VILLAGE ON INDIAN SIDE; MV BOARD OF HIRANAGAR BLOCK; LV DESERTED VILLAGE (6 SHOTS) LV BORDER POST; SLV FENCING; SLV BURNT FIELDS; SLV FENCING; LV PAN OF BORDER AREA; SLV RECENTLY DUG TRENCH (6 SHOTS) SLV ROAD LEADING TO VILLAGE; SLV DESERTED HOMES; MV BOARD SAYING "YOU ARE IN THE FIRING RANGE OF ENEMY" (3 SHOTS) SLV AN INJURED COW; SCU BROKEN UTENSILS; SLV BURNT HOUSES (4 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 6th July 2005 21:10
- Keywords:
- Location: BABIYA VILLAGE, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Conflict,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA2GNHN15N5MF6U29XEK8CTN81G
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Dozens of villages have been deserted in border areas of India's northern Jammu and Kashmir state due to shelling by Pakistani troops.
Deserted homes in Babiya village in Jammu region of India's northern Jammu and Kashmir state are mute witness to the latest tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Thousands of villagers in border areas have fled their homes as Indian and Pakistani troops continued to exchange fire on Friday (May 24) for the eighth consecutive day.
An Indian defence official said a civilian died and three were hurt late on Thursday (May 23) during heavy mortar and machine-gun fire across the Line of Control, a ceasefire line dividing Kashmir, about 255 km (160 miles) north of Jammu, winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir state.
Babiya village in Hiranagar block of Kathua district is right on the border from where Pakistani observation posts are just a stone's throw away.
Babiya was one of the three villages where Pakistani shells destroyed about 90 homes on Thursday. More than 20,000 people are sheltered in relief camps.
India and Pakistan are separated by a 221 kilometre long international boundary in the Jammu region and a 665 kilometre ceasefire line sets the arch-rivals apart in the disputed Kashmir region.
Troops of the two countries regularly exchange fire in border areas but tensions have risen after the May 14 guerrilla raid in Jammu which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based Kashmiri groups.
India blames Pakistan for attacks by Islamic militants in Jammu and Kashmir, its only Muslim-majority state and elsewhere.
But as European Union External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten began the first of a series of visits by senior foreign diplomats to press for calm, India has begun showing signs of toning down its rhetoric. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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