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WORLD NEWSTuesday 23 February 2016

Indian paramilitary soldiers watch as smoke billows from building where suspected militants had Tensions rising fast on DMZ,
taken refuge during a gun battle on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Indian
forces on Monday killed three militants, ending the standoff with a total of nine dead. North Korean officer tells AP

(AP Photo/Dar Yasin) ERIC TALMADGE
Associated Press
Indian Army: PANMUNJOM, North Korea (AP) — Tensions have in-
creased significantly along the Demilitarized Zone
Forces kill 3 militants to end 3-day standoff since North Korea’s recent nuclear test and rocket
launch, a North Korean military official told The As-
AIJAZ HUSSAIN has ended. We’re now day to support the rebels. sociated Press on Monday, adding that while he
Associated Press clearing the huge building Ignoring government or- could not comment on operational details, “the
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — room by room,” senior po- ders to stay away from the reality is that it is touch and go.”
Indian forces on Monday lice officer Syed Javaid Mu- site, they chanted slogans Though parts of the world’s most fortified border
killed three militants who jtaba Gillani said. against Indian rule in Kash- can seem like a tourist trap, drawing throngs of
had holed up for three days During the day, the army mir. Government forces camera-happy visitors on both sides every year, to
in a building in India’s por- said the last rebel holdouts fired tear gas and pellet the military-trained eye the Cold War-style standoff
tion of Kashmir, the army had been cornered in the guns, while the protesters along the 257-kilometer (160-mile) DMZ — estab-
said, ending the standoff building. threw rocks. Police said at lished when the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an
with a total of nine dead. The militants took refuge least 15 protesters were armistice, not a peace treaty — is an incident wait-
The troops recovered a in the building after they hurt. ing to happen.
large quantity of arms and fired automatic rifles and Anti-India sentiment runs That’s now truer than ever, the North Korean of-
ammunition as they se- ambushed a convoy of deep in the region, where ficer said, as tensions are escalating between
cured each floor of the five- paramilitary soldiers on Sat- rebel groups have been Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington. Thousands of
story government building, urday. fighting since 1989 for ei- U.S. troops are deployed in South Korea and units
said Lt. Gen. Arvind Dutta, They allowed more than ther independence or a based around the DMZ have the motto “Be Ready
a senior army officer. Five 100 civilian government merger with neighboring to Fight Tonight.”
soldiers and one civilian employees to leave the Pakistan. More than 68,000 “People come here and they think it’s like a resort.
were killed over the week- building without harm. people have been killed in But if you know it better, you know how danger-
end. Three members of the spe- the armed uprising and en- ous it is,”Lt. Col. Nam Dong Ho of the North Korean
Loud explosions and fierce cial forces — two army suing Indian military crack- People’s Army said in Panmunjom, the truce village
exchanges of gunfire rat- captains and a soldier — down. where the armistice was signed.
tled the building during the were killed in the standoff, India and Pakistan each Nam said tensions have increased significantly
50-hour standoff that was along with two paramilitary administer a portion of since the nuclear test in January and rocket launch
the longest-running attack soldiers and a civilian. Thir- Kashmir, but both claim earlier this month. “Something could happen at
in five years in the disputed teen paramilitary troops the Himalayan region in its any time,” he said.
Himalayan region’s main were wounded. entirety. The rival nations To stand on the North Korean side of the Demilita-
city of Srinagar or its out- Hundreds of residents in have fought three wars, rized Zone is almost otherworldly.
skirts. Fire was also seen in the Pampore area, where two of them over control After crossing through military checkpoints and
the building, but the flames the militants had holed of Kashmir, since they won passing roadside concrete structures rigged to
later subsided. up, demonstrated on the independence from British detonate and keep any vehicles from passing —
“The exchange of gunfire streets Sunday and Mon- colonialists in 1947.q defenses that are also common in the South — the
air is peaceful and fresh, and birds can be heard
chirping as they fly over a carefully manicured
landscape dotted with rock monuments and me-
ticulously maintained historical buildings.
But closer to the Demarcation Line that marks
the actual border, soldiers stand rigidly on guard,
armed and intimidating, often just a few steps
away from their South Korean counterparts.
On Monday, the surreal feeling at the Demarcation
Line was heightened by the absence of anyone —
soldiers or civilians — visible on the South’s side.
South Korea halted tours to its side of the DMZ the
day after the Jan. 6 nuclear test, when it also an-
nounced it would resume cross-border propagan-
da broadcasts, which have in the past brought
strong recriminations from North Korea. The tours
have gradually resumed. A popular observatory
where people can catch a glimpse into the North
via binoculars was set to reopen Tuesday.q