Hundreds flee Kashmir violence as India, Pakistan trade fire

Hundreds of civilians have fled escalating violence in the disputed Kashmir region after days of artillery fire between Indian and Pakistani forces.

Tensions have been running high since an attack earlier this month on an Indian army camp in Kashmir which killed six soldiers.

India blamed Pakistan for the attack and said it would make its rival pay for the "misadventure".

Police superintendent Imtiaz Hussain said artillery shells fired by the Pakistan army fell in the Uri area on the so-called Line of Control (LoC) on Saturday, forcing hundreds of villagers to flee from their homes.

Indian forces returned artillery fire, an Indian officer said, the first time heavy guns have been used since a 2003 ceasefire along the disputed frontier.

The two armies have been exchanging intermittent small-arms and mortar fire over the past couple of years as ties deteriorated.

Around 700 civilians took shelter at a school in Uri, with Pakistani authorities advising villagers near the LoC on the Indian side to flee.

Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the Indian artillery fire and said 17 Pakistani civilians had been killed by Indian fire along the LoC this year.

India accuses Pakistan of orchestrating a separatist revolt in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947. Both claim the territory in full and have fought two wars over the region.