Thousands march in front of |U.N offices

Tens of thousands of Muslim separatist protesters shouting slogans against India’s administration of the Indian Kashmir region, marched in front of U.N. offices on 18 August 2008 in Srinagar, Kashmir’s summer capital. The demonstrators, led by Kashmir’s main separatist group All Parties Hurryat (Freedom) Conference, marched within hundreds of yards of a police barricade outside of the U.N. Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) offices. The demonstrators submitted a plea to the international body denouncing the recent shooting deaths of 22 protesters by security forces. The incident occurred in the Kashmir valley when Muslim protesters gathered to denounce the blockade of a major regional highway by Hindus. India had deployed a large contingency of security forces throughout the city of Srinigar on 18 August ahead of the planned demonstration rally by separatists. The dispute began in June, when Kashmir’s government promised land to a Hindu shrine trust, angering many local Muslims. The government later revoked its offer, infuriating Hindus and causing various protest actions and clashes between Muslims and Hindus.