Travel Alert - Ahmedabad, India

[Susan Johnson]

From the Associated Press - 4 March 2002

Ahmedabad, India — Religious clashes claimed more lives in the western state of Gujarat, bringing the death toll to 538 as Hindu mobs attacked Muslim homes in several towns overnight, police said Monday.

Schools remained closed, curfews were still in effect in some cities and Muslims were still too frightened to leave their homes or return to those they fled, fearing more attacks from mob violence that started Wednesday.

The death toll had climbed from 499 Sunday to 538 by Monday, said an officer in the state police control room, as Hindu gangs attacked Muslims in several villages in the northern districts of Sabarkantha and Banaskantha. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said fresh killings were reported overnight in the towns of Halad and Dantha.

The violence also spread beyond the borders of Gujarat. Police said a Muslim vendor was stabbed to death on Sunday while followers of both faiths threw rocks at each other in Aligarh, a city with a history of Muslim-Hindu violence in the central state of Uttar Pradesh. Some 2,000 paramilitary troops were sent to the city and a curfew imposed.

All travellers should take appropriate precautions, including avoiding travel to these areas.



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Susan Johnson

'One world, two wheels'
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com