Earthquake survivors protesting against their eviction from camp beaten by police

Pakistani police used canes and rifle butts to break up a march Friday by survivors of the Oct. 8 earthquake who were protesting their eviction from a makeshift camp. Several demonstrators were injured, and several were arrested. The violence broke out as about 200 people marched through a street in central Muzaffarabad. Some fifty police blocked their way, then began dispersing the crowd with rifle butts and canes. Among those injured was a man left lying by the roadside.

Several men were taken away in police vehicles.

Quake survivors have been setting up informal camps all over the city, most of them lacking adequate sanitation and considered to constitute a public health risk, the AP reports.

The magnitude 7.6 quake centered in Kashmir killed about 86,000 people in Pakistani territory and another 1,350 in India, destroying bridges, roads, and the homes of more than 3 million people, along with hospitals, government offices and more than 10,000 schools.

T.E.