A 15-year-old youth died after being shot by security forces in an anti-Israel protest in Khudwani-Qaimoh village in south Kashmir's Kulgam district on Sunday.
The killing sparked a fresh wave of anger in the Kashmir Valley, which had been simmering for the last few days, and had become an epicenter of protests against Israel's air and ground strikes against Palestinian dominated Gaza. More than 300 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive in the last two weeks. Protests have erupted in several regions across the world against Israel's atrocities. In Kashmir, several people sustained wounds when security forces resorted to force to disperse protesters in different parts of the Valley on Friday. Some people in Khudwani-Qaimoh area too had sustained injuries on Friday.
"An unfortunate incident of firing has taken place in Khudwani in which one boy, Suhail Ahmad, lost his life," a police spokesperson said after Saturday's killing. "The circumstances leading to the incident of firing are being enquired into. The police has registered an FIR and the matter is being probed."
The incident occurred when hundreds of youth took to the streets in the sleepy village to protest Israel's offensive in Gaza as well as to raise their voice against the excesses committed by the security forces on protesters on Friday. The protesters then clashed with the security forces, who fired tear smoke shells and had to lathi-charge the protesters to disperse them. The face-off escalated with the security forces later opening fire in which Ahmad sustained gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.
Following news of the death, thousands of others took to the streets, chanting pro-freedom slogans before Ahmad's body was taken home in a procession. Security forces were deployed in large numbers to prevent an escalation of violence in the area. "The situation is tense," said a local resident.
"The empathy for Palestinians has to be respected wherever it is expressed peacefully and given due space," said main opposition party leader Mehbooba Mufti. "The government must also deal with the situation with care, caution and consideration so as to prevent an escalation which could lead to an unfortunate situation like the one that consumed 120 precious lives in 2010."
Tanks and bulldozers dug in across a mile-wide strip of Gaza's eastern frontier on Saturday as Israel sent in ground forces earlier this week after 10 days of air and naval barrages failed to stop rocket fire from Gaza.
The military said its engineers were concentrating on a buffer zone 2.5 km wide and were looking to destroy concealed rocket launch pads and tunnels dug by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists after the last big flare-up of violence in 2012
Gaza officials said that at least 325 Palestinians, including 70 children, have been killed in the 12-day conflict. On Israel's side, a soldier and two civilians have died.
"I live in fear expecting death. I no longer know what's more difficult - to die or to await death," said Ali Mahmoud, a 40-year-old resident of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.
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