SRINAGAR, India: Thousands of villagers in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have fled their homes because of artillery battles between Indian and Pakistani soldiers along the highly militarized border, officials said Tuesday.

Authorities have evacuated more than 6,000 people to relief camps as of Tuesday, nearly a week after the shelling broke out, said Shantmanu, a senior official in Indian Kashmir. About 4,000 other people have fled their homes and are staying with relatives, he said.

At least a dozen people have been killed in the border skirmishes.

While there was no shelling reported Tuesday, tensions have heightened along the 200-kilometer border that India and Pakistan share in Kashmir, the Himalayan region claimed by both countries and divided between them. India and Pakistan have fought two wars over control of Kashmir since they won independence from Britain in 1947.

Indian officials have set up about 20 relief camps where food and medical care is available to villagers, many of whom fled their homes with no belongings. Many residents said they fled their homes as mortar fire began landing in border villages.

“We were very frightened as bullets and shells were raining from all sides,” said Kamal Singh, a construction worker. “We somehow managed to flee to a safer place,” he said in a telephone interview. Singh said he and his family fled from Baniglad village and have been staying at a government-run relief shelter for four days.