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| India-Pakistan |
| 21 Hizbul surrender... |
| 2002-06-01 |
| Twenty-one militants surrendered in Kashmir on Saturday, and handed over their arms and ammunition, an army spokesman said. Sixteen of the militants belonged to Kashmir's dominant separatist group Hizbul Mujahideen, he said. The rebels surrendered their weapons to the deputy commissioner of northern Kupwara district, Syed Haque Nawaz and senior police and army officers. "All sixteen Hizbul militants belonged to one battalion," Nawaz said, adding that the surrender marked the first time since the eruption of armed insurgency in 1989 that an entire battalion of any group has surrendered. The five other militants who gave themselves up belonged to other groups active in Kashmir. "Battalion" is a pretty grandiose description for 16 guys... Nawaz said all the 21 militants were local Kashmiris. The battalion commander, who gave his name only as Tanveer, said the group was disillusioned with the "ongoing violence in Kashmir." "We surrendered because we want peace to return," said Tanveer, adding they had been running from one forest to another in search of hide-outs and food. "We want to live a normal life," he said. The militants surrendered 20 AK-47 rifles, two rocket launchers, one machine gun and some grenades and rockets. People who lead normal lives don't lug those things around. Wonder how many other cracks in the jihadi structure will open in the coming days, and how they're related to the dissention in the ranks? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |