The Indian army fires at Islamic guerrillas occupying positions along the disputed border that India shares with Pakistan in the Batalik sector of Kashmir
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June 19, 1999
Web posted at: 11:22 p.m. EDT (0322 GMT)

In this story: Indian paratroopers try to choke supply lines New Delhi rebuffs Islamabad plea for G-8 mediation Latest fighting claims 14 lives, says India RELATED STORIES, SITES

SRINAGAR, India (CNN) -- Protesters in Kashmir heightened calls for independence as Indian commandos parachuted into nearby mountains on Saturday to dislodge Muslim insurgents on the disputed Pakistani border.

Stepping up a decade-old insurgency against control by the New Delhi government, dozens of Kashmiri separatists in Srinagar shouted demands for freedom and threw stones at authorities. Two demonstrators were reported injured and others were arrested.

During the past 12 days, Indian security forces have burned more than 400 homes in India's only Muslim-majority province, said Yasin Malik, a leader of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. Police chief Gurbachan Jaget denied the charge.

Meanwhile, Kashmiri militants have started mining a nearby road used by Indian troops. More than 12 Indian soldiers have died in explosions in recent days.

An estimated 25,000 have died in fighting between Kashmiri separatists and Indian troops during the past 10 years.

Indian paratroopers try to choke supply lines

The sound of heavy guns boomed in the distance on Saturday, as Indian and Pakistani forces exchanged more artillery volleys.

To try to dislodge 700 guerrillas occupying peaks on the Indian side of a disputed line, Indian parachute commandos dropped behind Islamic guerrilla lines to cut off supply routes from Pakistan, military officers said.

Anticipating a long battle, the Indian military rushed reinforcements to the front-line town of Kargil, to the east of Srinagar.

India was caught by surprise when it found militants on the heights overlooking a national highway as the snow melted in May.

New Delhi rebuffs Islamabad plea for G-8 mediation

Pakistan has demanded mediation by the United Nations or Western countries to try to resolve its long-standing dispute over Kashmir.

But India on Saturday ruled out mediation. "There is no need for any mediation," Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said in New Delhi. "This is a bilateral issue and we will resolve it."

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued a plea Friday to leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations, meeting in Germany, to "avert a conflict" by taking a role in resolving the dispute.

"India's rigid attitude over Kashmir is aggravating the problem. It is the responsibility of both the countries to make efforts to decrease tension," he told reporters.

Two members of the G-8 group, the United States and Russia, have blamed Pakistan, rejecting Islamabad's denial that its army is directly participating in the incursions.

Latest fighting claims 14 lives, says India

Indian troops destroyed four rebel fortifications made of stone and mud and killed eight rebels in fighting from Friday to Saturday evening, Col. Bikram Singh, an Indian military spokesman, told reporters in New Delhi.

India lost six soldiers and another seven were wounded in the operations, Singh said. He estimated a total death toll of 112, along with 249 wounded and eight missing, since the offensive began last month.

Indian soldiers also recovered the body of a Pakistani soldier in the area north of Tololing, which was recaptured last week, he said.

India says it is facing Pakistani soldiers and Afghan mercenaries. Pakistan describes the fighters as Muslim "freedom fighters" battling for Kashmiri independence in predominantly Hindu India.

In the key sector of Dras, Indian soldiers have captured one of three peaks from the guerrillas. Soldiers were battling fiercely to capture the other two from the militants in bunkers firing downhill on Indian military camps and advancing troops.

Control of these three peaks is crucial for India since they overlook India's national highway, the only supply line for the military deployed between Srinagar and Leh in Kashmir.

The escalating fighting has caused fears that the conflict may spread to a wider war. The nuclear-capable neighbors have fought two wars over Kashmir since 1947. India controls two thirds of Kashmir, Pakistan the remainder. Both nations claim the province in its entirety.

Correspondent Satindar Bindra and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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