Apr
5
Use of Kashmiri Civilians as Human Shields
April 5, 2004 | Comments Off on Use of Kashmiri Civilians as Human Shields
Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times has an article on the Indian Army’s use of Kashmiri villagers as human shields. It describes the experiences of one family from Chattibandi, whose members were abducted and used as human shields by the Army:
“They forced my sons to go with them and told me, ‘Baba, don’t worry. They will be back later tonight,'” he [Abdul Rehman Bani] said.
Two days later, his hands numb with frostbite, Bani’s son Mohammed Yousaf, 35, came down the mountain with the corpse of his brother Mohammed Yaqoob, 24. He was one of five villagers killed in heavy gunfire as Indian troops advanced on a guerrilla lair, behind a press gang of men armed only with spades.
“They were used as human shields,” the elder Bani said. “There is no doubt about that.”
Our February 28 post quotes extensively from an article written by Ashok Agrwaal for Tehelka magazine on the human shield issue in Kashmir. It also describes the use of villagers as human shields in Punjab.
The Kashmir section of the blog also links to news coverage of the Chattibandi incident.
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