The Associated Press

Fri, Nov 7, 2008 (5:57 a.m.)

Government forces fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse scores of rock-throwing protesters who broke through security cordons to hold pro-independence demonstrations in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Friday, police said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Thousands of troops in riot gear prevented people from reaching Jamia Masjid, the main mosque in the disputed region's largest city, Srinagar, where separatist leaders planned a rally after Friday's noon prayers, area residents said.

The demonstration was to honor tens of thousands of Muslims who were killed in clashes with Hindus on Nov. 6, 1947, within months of India and Pakistan gaining independence from Britain.

Only small groups of protesters took to the streets at two places in Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

"Soldiers are patrolling everywhere and are telling us to stay indoors as curfew has been imposed in the city," said Shakeel Ahmed, a Srinagar resident.

Officials said the government has banned any public assembly of more than five people.

"There is no curfew, but yes, restrictions have been imposed to avoid any law and order situation," said B. Srinivas, a senior police officer.

Separatist leaders Maulvi Abbas Ansari, Sajjad Gani Lone, Bilal Gani Lone and the High Court Bar Association president, Mian Abdul Qayoom, were placed under house arrest to prevent them from participating in the protests, Srinivas said.

On Thursday, government forces foiled planned street protests by erecting steel barricades and laying razor wire on roads. Most residents stayed home, and shops, businesses and government offices were shuttered.

Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, a key separatist leader now under house arrest, urged people to boycott local elections announced by the Indian government. Voting starts Nov. 17 and will be held in seven phases running through Dec. 24.

"India has again stopped our peaceful rally by sheer military might. But let India read the writing on the wall that whatever it does, we'll never give up our fight against its occupation," Farooq said in a telephone interview from his home.

Authorities have arrested at least 30 separatist leaders for campaigning against the polls, many of them under a tough law that allows police to detain people for up to two years without trial. Human rights activists condemn the law as draconian.

In recent months, Kashmir has seen some of the largest protests against Indian rule in two decades. At least 48 people have died, most killed when Indian soldiers opened fire on Muslim demonstrators.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where most people favor independence from India or a merger with Pakistan. Kashmir is divided between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, who both claim the Himalayan region in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.

Militant separatist groups have been fighting since 1989 to end Indian rule. More than 68,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the uprising and subsequent Indian crackdown.