Street violence in Kashmir Valley has increased in recent weeks after the deaths of several unarmed civilians who were killed as troops sought to contain protests against rule from New Delhi.

“I feel there is a great requirement for political initiatives that take all people together,” Gen. V.K. Singh told the Times of India in an interview on Wednesday.

“Militarily, we have brought the overall internal security situation in Jammu and Kashmir under control. Now, the need is to handle things politically.”

Singh added that local police “need to be more active” to allow the army, currently numbering about 500,000, to reduce its presence in the region.

Three Indian soldiers and five suspected militants were killed in the latest gunbattle that started late Monday along the Line of Control (LOC) border that splits Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

The army said the militants were involved in one of many attempts to “infiltrate” Indian Kashmir from the Pakistani side. “The armed forces are required to undertake operations in very difficult circumstances,” Singh said. “If the Jammu and Kashmir situation has come under control, it’s the forces which have sacrificed with their blood.”

Meanwhile, authorities extended a curfew to new areas of Kashmir on Wednesday, trying to control the street violence.

Scores of people defied the 24-hour curfew in Srinagar, the largest city, chanting anti-India slogans and throwing rocks at police, who responded with tear gas.

Shops, businesses, schools and government offices were shut in the region. Authorities postponed college examinations and even blocked text messages from cell phones.

Thousands of police and paramilitary troops patrolled the troubled town of Sopore, where a curfew continued for a sixth day.

With tension mounting, authorities put most parts of Srinagar and the key towns of Anantnag and Baramulla under curfew on Wednesday.

Omar Abdullah, the state’s chief minister, asked people to stay indoors. “They should not violate curfew and not engage security forces,” he said.

But in at least three Srinagar neighborhoods, people came out into the streets and chanted slogans such as “We want freedom” and “Go India, go back.” Police and paramilitary soldiers immediately fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse the protesters, who threw rocks in retaliation, a police officer said on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.

There were no reports of injuries on Wednesday, a day after police and paramilitary troops fired on thousands of anti-India protesters, killing at least three people in Anantnag, a town 55 km south of Srinagar, police said. Local residents said one of the dead, Ishtiyaq Ahmed Khanday, 15, was not part of the protests and was killed in the compound of his home.

While anti-India demonstrations are frequent in the region, the latest round of street protests was triggered by a police investigation earlier this month that found Indian soldiers had killed three Kashmiri civilians in May.