Srinagar, Sep 14: Paramilitary CRPF and police on Friday burst tear smoke shells to break up pro-freedom demonstrations in the Old City of Nowhatta here.

Reports reaching news gathering agency Global News Service (GNS) said that after congregational Friday prayers concluded at the historic Jamia Masjid Nowhatta, dozens of youth tried to take out a pro-freedom march. Carrying Pakistan flags and chanting pro-freedom slogans, the youth were intercepted by a posse of CRPF troopers and the police.

“Angry youth threw rocks at the government forces to give a vent to their anger. In retaliation, CRPF and police lobbed tear gas canisters to disperse the stone-throwing youth,” Bashir Ahmad, an eyewitness told GNS.

He said that the clashes that continued for at least an hour, prompted the shopkeepers in the vicinity of the Central Mosque to pull down their shutters.

According to the eyewitnesses, no one was injured in the pitched battles between protesters and the government forces.

On Friday last, policemen in civvies arrested four alleged stone pelters after mingling with the crowd of protesters around the Jamia Masjid. The picture of the cops in civvies went viral on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter with users comparing the strategy of government forces with that of Isreal forces.

Many users juxtaposed images of Kashmir policemen with Israeli cops to make their point.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)