New DelhiWith no let up in skirmishes on Line of Control (LoC) and international border (IB) dividing Kashmir, the civilians on both sides of the divide continue to bear the brunt.
On Thursday evening, the two sides exchanged fire in Arnia, Ramgarh and R S Pura sectors along the International Border in Jammu and Samba districts.
Reports from Pakistani side said Indian forces pounded villages, killing at least six people and injuring 26 more.
Women and children were among the victims of the attacks, Pakistani army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said in what he described in a statement on Friday as unprovoked Indian shelling across the boundary on the Pakistani villages of Charwah and Harpal.
Initially, the army had announced that four civilians had died in the Indian shelling in Kashmir.
According to police in Jammu, the Pakistani firing wounded four civilians, besides damaging several houses.
“Four civilians were injured in the firing,” a police spokesman said. “The firing also perished cattle besides damaging residential houses.”
The spokesman said authorities have evacuated around 800 civilians to safer places.
Reports said nearly 50,000 civilians in forward villages of Pakistan’s Sialkot sector have deserted their homes following Indian firing.
The skirmishes have led to killings of troops as well as civilians.
According to Indian officials, over 300 incidents of cease-fire violations have been recorded along the LoC since the beginning of this year.
LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into India and Pakistan controlled parts.
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