30 DIE IN KASHMIR PROTEST as Indian troops open fire

There were scenes of mayhem in parts of southern Indian-administered Kashmir after Indian forces opened fire on thousands of protesters, killing at least 19 civilians and wounding scores of others during a mass funeral for a slain rebel fighter.

Police said a man was killed on Sunday as hundreds of people clashed with troops in southern Pulwama town, while six civilians who had been injured after Indian troops fired on rock-throwing protesters on Saturday died overnight. Eight protesters were killed on Saturday.

Tens of thousands of people defied a curfew in parts of Kashmir on Saturday to pay homage to Burhan Wani, the rebel fighter and so-called poster boy of the new Kashmiri resistance, resulting in clashes with police and paramilitary. 

Wani was shot dead along with two other fighters by security forces and police in Bundoora village on Friday, 85km south of Srinagar, prompting mass mourning across the valley.

According to officials, as news of the killing spread across the valley on Saturday, clashes erupted in several districts in southern Kashmir as thousands of residents hurled rocks at Indian troops, who responded by using live ammunition, pellet guns and tear gas.