SRINAGAR, India — Tensions escalated in the aftermath of a suicide attack in disputed Kashmir, with nine people killed Monday in a gunbattle that broke out as Indian soldiers scoured the area for militants. India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the Muslim-majority region in its entirety. Videos of anti-Kashmiri protests have gone viral on social media, including some in which Kashmiri students were beaten by mobs of Hindu nationalist groups and warned to leave colleges and universities. “Two colleges in Dehradun and one in Moradabad have stated that they will not admit new Kashmiri students,” it said. Rebels have been fighting Indian control in Kashmir since 1989 and the uprising and ensuing crackdown have killed about 70,000 people.

Source: National Post February 18, 2019 05:09 UTC