Indian Police Clash With Kashmir Protesters

Go India go, we want freedom.

At least 35 people were wounded on Friday in Kashmir's main city when demonstrators clashed with troops in the latest anti-India protest to hit the region, police and witnesses said.

They said Indian troops fired teargas shells and chased stone-pelting protesters in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital.

Shouting anti-India slogans, thousands of people marched in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital, part of an ongoing campaign against New Delhi's rule that has become an embarrassment for the Indian government.

The current round of protests are some the biggest since a separatist revolt broke out in the disputed Himalayan region in 1989, a conflict that has killed thousands of people.

"Go India go, we want freedom," shouted protesters led by separatist leader Yasin Malik in Srinagar.

At least 37 protesters have been killed by government forces since last month in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley. More than 1,000 people have been injured.

The protests were sparked by a government decision to grant land to build shelters for Hindu pilgrims travelling to Kashmir, one of the world's most militarised regions.

Shops, businesses and schools were closed on Friday and streets in the strife-torn region wore a deserted look. Only security patrols were on the roads.

"I appeal to people to protest peacefully," Malik told the protesters, many of them carrying his picture.

Thousands of people took to streets in northern and southern towns in Kashmir, and clashed with the police.

Indian troops have been criticised by Kashmiris and international human rights groups for using excessive force to quell protests in the Himalayan region.

The protests come at a time when violence involving Indian troops and separatist guerrillas has declined significantly after India and Pakistan, who claim the region in full and have gone to war over it, began a slow-moving peace process in 2004.

But people are still killed in shootouts and occasional explosions.