Heavy Pak shelling kills 3 more, triggers migration

SRINAGAR, July 31: Frightened by unabated artillery firing by Pakistani troops thousands of villagers from the frontline areas along the ...

SRINAGAR, July 31: Frightened by unabated artillery firing by Pakistani troops thousands of villagers from the frontline areas along the Line of Control LoC in Kashmir and Ladakh have left their homes as the toll in border firing rose to 24.

Army said two soldiers were killed in Keran in Kupwara today as Pakistani shells for the first time landed in Uri township and even at Rampur, where a big Army unit is located. One villager was killed in Uri sector and at least seven persons were injured today.

At least 17 residents of Tangdhar have so far died in the shelling and about 25 injured, seven of them seriously who were today airlifted to Srinagar. So far four Armymen and two BSF jawans have also been killed in the shelling. Kargil town in Ladakh is nearly deserted as the panic stricken residents have left for safer places following Thursday8217;s firing all over the region, an official spokesman said today adding that almost 80 per cent of the population has moved out.

A resident of Dawar who had escapedfrom Gurez to Srinagar said villagers have been living inside jungles and nullahs to escape shelling for the past two weeks. Most affected are villages of Bhagtore and Izmarg. quot;People literally sneak into their homes to get some food materials and return to nullahs for shelter,quot; he said.

He said vehicles were not able to move on a 15-kms stretch from Koregbal up to Dawar during the day in view of the vulnerability of the road to Pakistani shelling. The traffic was allowed only during the night and vehicles moved without headlights. A large number of people have moved to Bandipore, Koregbal and Dawar, where they have been putting up in school buildings and hospitals.

The Army said that quot;Pakistan was resorting to the heaviest ever artillery firing and keeping the LoC all along the Kashmir frontier alivequot;. Many observers in Kashmir feel the Pakistani Army was trying to fuel tensions on the LoC to cause embarrassment to the Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers who were trying to rebuild theIndo-Pak relations in Colombo.

In Kupwara sector where Tangdhar town has been hit for the first time, residents have started moving away. Shelling continued all along the LoC in Keran, Gurez, Macchil, Kupwara, Uri and Kargil.