Several face -to -face witnesses have reported the scenes of chaos and shots lived during this Tuesday’s mortal attack on the back managed by India, where alleged military killed 28 Indian tourists and wounded more than 10 in a popular destination of the Indian Himalayas. This is One of the worst attacks against civilians in the region In recent years.
“My colleagues and I, who work attending tourists here, heard several shots and We saw visitors shouting and running in all directions“, He tells Efe by telephone Gulzar Ahmad, a tourist services provider in Pahalgam, the popular mountain tourist city located in northern India, where the events took place.
Assumptions Insurgents They approached tourists when they were in the meadow and began to shoot them at a short distance, claiming that some were not Muslims. Among the chaos of the shooting, “we immediately understood the danger,” says Ahmad, who explains that it happened in an open meadow area.
“So We lay down to save us. Dragging towards a safer place, we continuously shouted to the people who ran to bend down. We believe that this action helped save many lives in that terrible situation, “he recalls.
A terrifying moment
Fordouswhich offers tourists’ walks, explains that he had taken a couple of tourists to Baisaran, a popular prairie area, during the early hours of Tuesday. “After the shooting, my instinct drove me to run for my safety and I lost the trail of my clients. My horse also disappeared, “he says.
Altaf, another service provider of the local community that was present in Baisaran when the attack occurred, described the scene as a terrifying moment: “It was terrible to witness how bullets reached people in a place that is usually very quiet. I find it hard to forget those painful scenes. “
The territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in northern India, is a region that has been subject to a prolonged conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad. Both countries They claim sovereignty of the region, and the area has witnessed an armed insurgency against Indian domain for decades, often involving separatist groups seeking independence or unification with Pakistan.
This Tuesday’s attack seems to be an important change in the regional conflict, where tourists for many years have largely fought from violence despite A series of selective hindu murdersincluding immigrant workers from Indian states, after New Delhi ended with the semi-autonomy of the region in 2019 and drastically reduced dissent, civil freedoms and freedom of the press. Tensions have been boiling since then, since India has intensified its counterinsurgency operations.