This Article is From Oct 10, 2014

Along the International Border, Villages Turn Into Warzones at Night

RS Pura Sector: In RS Pura, just 20 km from Jammu, some villages lie just 100-odd metres from the fence across which India and Pakistan have been waging their most intense cross-border duels since the ceasefire of 2003.

This sector has seen some of the most intense mortar shelling and machine gun fire from the Pakistanis and Indian forces have responded.

During the day, everything seems normal here. But the peace of the morning is a lull in the storm. In just a few hours - in the evening - this pretty, pastoral setting will become a nightmare.

For the last couple of hours there has been no shelling; a few villagers who had gone away have returned to tend to their poultry and their fields, but come 5:30 or 6 pm, they are told by the Border Security Force or BSF to "leave now, firing will commence".

A short distance away, in a small village, damage from overnight shelling can be seen - a home ripped apart by machine gun fire, window panes shattered, a Pakistani mortar lying in the front yard. And not too far away, we spot a trolley, its metallic undercarriage pierced by fire from a Pakistani heavy machine gun.

A BSF constable from a nearby post has heard of the damage to the post and pays a visit now; he knows all too well that in just a few hours this place will again be a war zone.

In Arnia, about 40 km from Jammu, five people were killed on Monday. Today, it is completely deserted. Everything - schools, banks, shops - is closed except for a small pharmacy.

It takes some time to spot traffic on the road in Arnia. These are farmers carrying their cattle out of Arnia. They feel it is just a matter of time before a Pakistani shell strikes them.

Two people who lived here are in hospital after a shell landed on their home two days ago. The sound of the explosion was so intense that one of them still can't hear properly.

All across the region people begin to brace themselves for another attack as night approaches. They also know that India's counter attack will be intense.

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