Two civilians were killed and one other injured on Saturday during an exchange of fire in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, reported ANI. Firing, which began around 7 am, is still under way. All schools in the area have been asked to remain closed till further notice.
The Pakistani troops allegedly started firing along the Line of Control followed by retaliation from the Indian Army. “[The] Pakistani Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics, 82 mm and 120 mm mortars from 7.15 am along the Line of Control in Nowshera sector”, said Manish Mehta, the public relation officer of the Ministry of Defence Jammu-Lt Col, according to PTI.
This is third ceasefire violation along the border in the past three days. On May 10 and May 11, Pakistani troops resorted to mortar shelling and firing of automatic weapons on civilian areas near the LoC.
On Thursday, Islamabad had summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner after reports surfaced about the death of a Pakistani civilian in cross-border shelling along the Line of Control. Pakistan has claimed that the shelling was started by the Indian Army, while India has said that Pakistan had began firing on Wednesday night and that a woman was killed on the Indian side of the border. Both countries had held that they fired in retaliation.
Many families were evacuated from border villages in Nowshera on Friday, according to Hindustan Times. The sub divisional magistrate of Nowshera tehsil had asked schools in the area to shut down. The intermittent shelling has affected 27 families and killed 40 farm animals in at least five hamlets along the border, reported PTI.
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