On the morning of April 1, people in India-administered Kashmir woke up to violence. The Indian security forces gunned down 13 rebels and four civilians, triggering a wave of protests across the disputed region.

Accused of using one of the slain civilians as a human shield, the Indian army claimed that the unarmed civilians were killed for attempting to break the military cordon imposed around the holed up rebels. Local activists, however, say the army shot at unarmed protesters either to kill or disable them. 

Kashmir is one of the oldest post-colonial disputes between India and Pakistan, which has claimed the lives of over 80,000 people in the last two decades.  

Kashmiri photojournalist Vikar Syed visits the families of the recent victims.