Five villagers were killed and 29 injured in heavy mortar shelling and firing by Pakistani troops targeting hamlets and outposts along the international border in Jammu district today in one of the worst ceasefire violations.
“Pakistani Rangers resorted to heavy and unprovoked firing and shelling of mortars on 10 border outposts (BoPs) and civilian areas along international border (IB) in Arnia belt of Jammu district from 10 pm last night,” a BSF spokesman said today.
They used small, automatic weapons and mortar bombs to target the border hamlets and BoPs along the borderline. BSF troops guarding the borderline retaliated effectively and gave a befitting reply, he said, adding that the intermittent firing exchanges are going on in the area.
In the shelling, five villagers were killed and 29 injured in several hamlets, Sub—Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), R S Pura Tehsil, Devender Shingh told PTI.
25 of the injured have been shifted to GMC hospital Jammu.
A large number of houses were damaged and livestock perished in the firing and shelling, said Singh, who was leading a team of police personnel who risked their lives to shift the injured people to hospital during the heavy shelling.
“People living in critical zones along the border will be evacuated,” he said
A BSF spokesman said that the force did not suffer any casualty.
This was the 11th ceasefire violations along Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir during last four days. There have been seven ceasefire violations along Line of Control in Poonch and four along IB in Jammu.
On October 3, Pakistani troops and rangers violated ceasefire in Gulamarg sector of Kashmir Valley and in Poonch and Jammu sectors in which a girl was killed and six persons were injured.