India: College clashes continue in Srinagar on April 24 /update 2

Event

Clashes continued in Srinagar on Monday, April 24, with women college students joining the anti-police protests in large numbers and clashing with security forces for over three hours. Protesters threw rocks at police vehicles, with Srinagar’s business hub Lal Chowk brought to a standstill as a result. Police forces reportedly resorted to stun grenades and tear gas, which did not deter the students. Additional violence is likely.

Context

College classes in the Kashmir Valley have been suspended since hundreds of students clashed with government forces in Indian-held Kashmir during protests in Srinagar against a police raid on a college on Monday, April 17.

Indian-held Kashmir has been particularly tense since April 9, when eight people were killed by police and paramilitary troops during election day violence. Armed clashes between protesters who oppose Indian rule and government forces have become more frequent since the killing of a popular rebel leader by security forces in July 2016, which sparked widespread unrest.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in its entirety.

Advice

As a reminder, some Western governments advise their citizens against nonessential travel to the west of Jammu and Kashmir state and against all travel to the border region with Pakistan (direct vicinity of the Line of Control) due to the high threat of terrorism.