UN urges Kashmir investigations

The United Nations has called for an independent investigation into the killing of civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The UN's Human Rights office says the Indian security forces should observe international principles when dealing with demonstrators.

Security forces have killed nearly 40 protesters since June, most of them in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley.

The protests were triggered by the allocation of land to a Hindu trust.

They have developed into the most serious protests in Indian-administered Kashmir in years.

'Proportionate'

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights "calls on the Indian authorities and in particular security forces to respect the right to freedom of assembly and expression, and comply with international human rights principles in controlling the demonstrators", it said in a statement issued in Switzerland late on Wednesday.

"The use of force should be proportionate to the threat posed and firearms must only be used in dispersing a violent assembly to protect individuals against an imminent threat of death or serious injury."

Indian-administered Kashmir has been hit by protests since June, after the government there granted land to a Hindu group that safeguards a sacred Hindu pilgrimage route.

The move unleashed anger among Kashmir Muslims and has seen a re-emergence of mass demonstrations calling for independence from India.

The land transfer was subsequently abandoned, and that resulted in Hindus concentrated in the Jammu region of the state taking to the streets.

The Indian security forces have been heavily criticised for their handling of the protests and local people say many innocent people have been shot dead.

The United Nations has now added its voice to that concern. "The Acting High Commissioner calls for thorough and independent investigations into all killings that have occurred so far," it said in its statement.

It also called on demonstrators "to protest using peaceful means only".

"Leaders of the different protesting groups have a responsibility to ensure that demonstrations are peaceful and that the demonstrators are not carrying sticks, guns or other weapons and refrain from intimidation," the UN said.

Many parts of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir are still under a curfew imposed last weekend. A number of separatist leaders were placed under arrest ahead of a major rally called by separatists in Srinagar last Monday.

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