Kashmir: curfew imposed before the first anniversary of the end of autonomy

A curfew was imposed Monday in Indian Kashmir, two days before commemorations of the first anniversary of New Delhi's abolition of semi-autonomy in the region, authorities said, citing suspicion of upcoming protests. "These restrictions take effect immediately and will apply on August 4 and 5," says the government decree which concerns the main city of Srinagar. "A full curfew will be applied in all districts of Kashmir," a senior police officer told AFP who wishes to remain anonymous.

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The region in northwest India, in the Himalayan mountain range, is already subject to a number of restrictions to limit the spread of coronavirus, after a jump in the number of infections. Most economic activities are limited, and freedom of movement restricted. Authorities have increased restrictions across the Kashmir Valley since the weekend of August 1.

Barricades and barbed wire

Early Monday morning, new steel and barbed wire barricades were erected to block Srinagar's main arteries, and police vehicles equipped with megaphones patrolled the town as night fell, ordering residents to stay. home for the next two days. Residents of other large cities and several villages told AFP that the police also told them not to leave their homes until Thursday. The curfew is similar to the one put in place just before Kashmir was deprived of its semi-autonomy by the Indian government on August 5, 2019.

A total ban on communications had been imposed, with telephone and internet cables cut. Tens of thousands of troops had also been transferred to the valley, one of the most militarized regions in the world. The curfew comes as Kashmiris have called for August 5 to be commemorated as a "black day". Resentment towards the Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi has only increased within predominantly Muslim Kashmir since last year, especially because of the permission granted to tens of thousands of people from outside the region. '' buy land, a privilege formerly reserved for the Kashmiris.

Kashmir is the scene of a three-decade-long conflict between rebels and Indian authorities, which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians.