29 July 2004	Thursday	11 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

AHMEDABAD, July 28: Indian authorities re-imposed a curfew in a riot-scarred western town on Wednesday after fresh clashes broke out between Hindus and Muslims, officials said.

"We have re-imposed the curfew after an incident of stone-pelting between Hindus and Muslims," R.K. Pathak, a senior government official, said from Veraval. Two men died and more than a dozen were injured in religious clashes in Veraval, some 320km southwest of Ahmedabad, Gujarat state's main city.

Authorities clamped a curfew in the port town after rampaging mobs torched dozens of shops, houses and vehicles, but relaxed it on Tuesday morning for four hours. Gujarat has suffered sporadic religious clashes since 2002, when India's worst religious riots in nearly a decade killed more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims.

Police fired 10 rounds into the air to disperse rioters on Tuesday and a mob torched part of a fish processing unit on the outskirts of Veraval, police said. Riot police continued to guard the streets, where most businesses and schools remained closed for a second day, Pathak said.

Police arrested about 20 people on Tuesday night for looting shops and houses, taking the total number of arrests after Monday's clashes to 200, said B.D. Vaghela, superintendent of police in Junagadh district.

Pathak said additional security forces were deployed in Somnath, a temple town near Veraval, as a precautionary measure because many Hindu pilgrims visit there this time of year. -Reuters