India moves to quell violence

Indian troops have been given 'shoot-to-kill' orders if they see rioters

AHMEDABAD, India (CNN) -- Indian police and army troops appear to have regained control of the western Indian state of Gujarat after three days of religious violence that has left almost 300 people dead.

The streets of the state's commercial capital Ahmedabad were relatively calm on Saturday -- in sharp contrast to the bloody clashes that have taken place there between Muslims and Hindus.

Indian officials said that since Saturday morning there has been no new major clashes, apart from sporadic incidents of stone throwing, and curfews would be eased in some areas.

The violence -- India's worst religious strife in more than a decade -- has been largely confined to the state of Gujarat where additional security reinforcements have been sent.

There were reports however, that Hindus in a remote mainly Muslim village burnt alive at least 25 people and torched homes and businesses overnight Friday.

Pitched battles

VIDEO CNN's Satinder Bindra reports on a town ripped apart by Hindus firebombing and killing Muslims after a train carrying Hindu activists was set on fire. Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   AUDIO CNN's Satinder Bindra reports from New Delhi on fears of escalating violence 1.16 MB / 1min. 50secs. WAV sound   FOCUS • Ayodhya: India's religious flashpoint  • India temple town on edge    RESOURCES Gallery: Hindu-Muslim violence flares up  Gallery: Godhra train fire     CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

The uprising began Wednesday when a large group, believed to be organized Muslims, fire-bombed a train carrying Hindu activists near Godhra, police said.

The activists were returning from a demonstration in the central Indian town of Ayodhya, where they were demanding the Indian government build a Hindu temple on the ruins of a Muslim mosque destroyed by Hindus nearly a decade ago.

Since Wednesday, Hindus and Muslims have engaged in pitched battles, using stones, sticks, knives, swords and homemade bombs -- with each side accusing the other of stepping up the violence.

Buildings have been torched and dozens of people have been burnt alive.

Muslims accuse the police of reacting slowly to protect them while Hindus accuse Muslims of throwing acid bombs and gasoline bombs.

On Friday night though, the heart of Ahmedabad was deserted, as police -- aided by some 1,300 army soldiers -- enforced the curfew.

The city's mayor described the violence as the worst in more than a decade.

Thousands of Indian troops are patrolling the streets throughout Gujarat in an effort to quell the violence with orders to 'shoot-to-kill' rioters on sight.

War zone

Thousands of people have been arrested, officials said and hundreds of ammunition rounds fired by security forces.

Looters take what they can from shops in Ahmedabad

But many are complaining that the government has been slow to react and that police have failed to break up some of the larger clashes in the past two days.

A curfew has been declared in more than half of Gujarat's 25 districts.

On Saturday, Ahmedabad resembled a war zone, debris littered streets and many homes, businesses and religious sites were blackened or destroyed by fire.

Several survivors in Ahmedabad told of gruesome circumstances in which they said they were attacked by large mobs with firebombs, then with sticks, swords, and knives, according to CNN's Satinder Bindra.

One man said five members of his family were killed in the violence.

Call for calm

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has canceled a trip to Australia to monitor the situation from New Delhi.

He has appealed to Hindu activists to call off their campaign.

One of the burned cars of a train that was carrying Hindu activists in Godhra, India.

The government banned any activity on the site of the Ayodhya mosque, saying it would take stern action against anyone found violating court orders.

The Ayodhya mosque -- believed to be built on the site where the Hindu god, Ram, was born -- was destroyed by Hindu mobs in 1992. The act sparked nationwide riots and has been blamed for thousands of deaths.

About 12 percent of Hindu-majority India's more than one billion people are Muslim.

While the country is officially secular, religious tensions constantly strain its social peace.

-- CNN New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra contributed to this report