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Summary The protests were led by freedom fighter Syed Ali Geelani following prayers of Eid al-Fitr.
Thousands of demonstrators on Wednesday staged anti-India protests in Indian held Kashmir after prayers to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramazan.Thousands of Muslims poured into the streets, shouting, We want freedom and Allah is great, after offering Eid prayers in the northern town of Sopore, about an hours drive from Srinagar.Geelani addressed a huge gathering in Sopores main square, urging India to end its occupation of Kashmir.People of India are our brothers. We have no animosity towards them. We only urge India to end its occupation of Kashmir, Geelani said, as mainly young Kashmiri men chanted: Go India, go backIn Srinagar, meanwhile, police used tear gas to disperse crowds after another top separatist and leading cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq addressed thousands of worshippers as pro-freedom slogans rang out.Farooq later urged Indias leading anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare to also voice concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Kashmir.People like Hazare should help us in ending human rights violations by troops in our state, Farooq told the crowd.Anti-India sentiments run high in Kashmir where security forces are often accused of human rights violations by the local population. Indian officials say they investigate every claim and punish the guilty.Hazare ended his 12-day fast last weekend when the Indian government conceded to the former army truck drivers demands for tough anti-corruption legislation.Police said a woman bystander and a policeman were injured during one of the four clashes reported during the day across Muslim-majority Kashmir valley.Last year Eid was marred by massive protests and arson attacks that forced authorities to impose a curfew in major Kashmir towns.Kashmir is in the grip of a more than 20-year-old struggle against Indian rule that has left more than 47,000 people dead.
