Islamabad, Jul. 19, (dpa/GNA) – Pakistani troops on Friday fired live bullets into crowds at a huge protest seeking an end to attacks by Islamist militants, killing one demonstrator and wounding more than two dozen, officials and activists said.

Tens of thousands of activists from political parties, rights groups and civil society gathered in the north-western town of Bannu to protest against this week’s attacks by the Pakistani Taliban.

At least 28 people including 10 soldiers and five civilians were killed in separate bomb-and-gun attacks in the region on Monday and Tuesday amid a surge in violence.

Carrying white flags that symbolize peace, the protestors chanted slogans against the militants and the army for failing to protect them, activist Taimur Kamal said.

Videos posted on social media and shared with dpa show protestors running for their lives as gun shots rang out.

Another video showed tens of thousands of people chanting “we want peace,” and “we don’t accept bombings” as the protestors marched in the chaotic town.

One dead body and at least 25 people with gunshot wounds were brought to the local hospital, local police officer Mumtaz Khan told dpa.

“The army opened fire directly at peaceful protestors holding white flags seeking peace. This is shameful,” said Mushtaq Ahmed, a former senator and activist of an Islamic political party.

Protests led by rights groups whose leaders accuse the Pakistani military of being soft on the Islamist militants are common in the volatile north-west of Pakistan.

The violence by the Pakistani Taliban, a group different from its Afghan counterpart, has surged since Kabul fell to the Islamist militia.

The group has killed more than 80,000 Pakistani civilians and security forces in decades of violence.

GNA