Three soldiers were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir during a clash with suspected rebels as the disputed region marked the fourth anniversary of New Delhi imposing direct rule, police said on Saturday.

An army patrol looking for armed rebels in Halan forests clashed with militants on Friday night. Three were wounded in the firefight. “The three personnel sustained injuries and later succumbed,” police wrote on Twitter

A search operation was under way to track the rebels. Fighting between rebels and government forces has decreased significantly since August 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government ended the Muslim-majority region's limited autonomy.

The government said the move was meant to bring peace and development to the region.

But nearly 900 people, including 144 members of the Indian security forces, have died in the four years since the change.

At least 63 people, including nine civilians, 16 government forces personnel, and 38 suspected rebels, have been killed this year so far. This is compared with 253 deaths last year. Young men continue to join rebel groups that have been fighting for decades for independence or merger with Pakistan. Pakistan controls a small part of the divided Himalayan territory.

India's top court is currently weighing whether Mr. Modi's government acted lawfully in suspending Kashmir's constitutionally guaranteed semi-autonomy. There has been a curtailment of civil liberties in the country since then, with restrictions on protests and journalists complaining of official harassment.

Several leaders of the local People's Democratic Party (PDP) were detained overnight after authorities denied them permission to stage a protest against Saturday's anniversary of the 2019 decision.

“All this is being done to hoodwink public opinion," PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti posted on Twitter, which is being rebranded as X. She also posted footage of a party official being detained by police.

“It just exposes normality's facade."

Hundreds of police and paramilitary troops were sent on Saturday to commercial districts in Srinagar, Kashmir's largest city, to keep order during the anniversary. City shops are often closed in Srinagar during protests as a gesture of solidarity.

But two members of commercial associations representing shopkeepers told AFP that retailers had been verbally instructed by police to remain open throughout the day.

Source: thenationalnews