Demonstrators in Srinagar
Photo: Reuters
Violent protests in Kashmir over al-Aqsa dig
Police fire teargas to disperse hundreds of people protesting against Israeli excavations near Islam's third holiest shrine in Jerusalem; three policemen hurt in clashes
Police fired teargas in Indian Kashmir's main city on Friday to disperse hundreds of people protesting against Israeli excavations
near Islam's third holiest shrine in Jerusalem, police and witnesses said.
Three policemen were hurt in clashes with stone-throwing men near Jamia Masjid, the grand mosque in Srinagar, summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, they said.
The dig near Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque complex, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, began last week and sparked fears across the Muslim world that it could harm the mosque.
Israel denies any harm would come to the mosque or the Dome of the Rock that stand on the site of two destroyed biblical Jewish Temples.
The trouble in Srinagar came as a strike called by separatist militants to protest against the excavations closed most shops and businesses in the city.
'Down with Israel'
Traffic was thin and most streets were deserted in response to the call by Islamist militants fighting New Delhi's rule in the disputed region."We appeal to Kashmiri Muslims to protest against the nefarious designs of Israel," Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, a hardline militant group, said in a statement. Al-Badr, another militant group, backed the call.
Earlier on Friday, scores of Muslims shouting "al-Aqsa mosque is crying ... down with Israel" took to the streets of Srinagar and burnt Israeli flags.
Life in Srinagar, a scenic city of 1.1 million, is frequently disrupted by strikes and protests over Islamic issues, separatist causes or alleged rights violations by Indian troops.
Officials say more than 40,000 people have been killed since a revolt broke out in Kashmir in 1989. Human rights groups put the toll at about 60,000 dead or missing.
