SRINAGAR: The army launched a widespread search for Muslim militants March 16 ordering people from their homes at daybreak and forcing many lo stay outside as troops detained suspected rebels residents reported.
Soldiers stopped pedestrians and vehicles from entering the western half of this city of 800000 people. Troops could be seen moving from house to house.
There was no official word on what prompted the search.
Elsewhere in the Kashmir Valley 14 more killings were reported bringing the death toll to at least 1973 since the government cracked down on an escalating separatist insurrection in January 1990.
The victims included seven militants shot to death during a gun bated with security troops in the Kupwara district near the Pakistani frontier according to a police communique.
The other victims killed in scattered Clashes or ambushes included two members of the government security forces two militants and two civilians caught in crossfire the statement said. The bullet-riddled body of a man also was found.
The house-to-house search in Srinagar covered most of the city’s western half home to many militants and their supporters.
“They didn’t even allow us into our homes for food. The children are hungry” one woman said
There were no immediate reports of any clashes during the searches but a police communique said about 20 suspected militants had been detained.
A senior army officer speaking on condition of anonymity said the searches were expected to last three days.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 22, 1991
