Thousands of people defied a curfew across Indian-controlled Kashmir to pray in small mosques and in open fields Friday, as government forces arrested dozens of suspected separatists in an attempt to stem civil unrest.

Police fired tear gas to disperse nearly 4,000 protesters chanting, "India go back. We want freedom," in Baramulla, a town north of the main city of Srinagar.

Authorities clamped a curfew over Kashmir on Wednesday in hopes of quelling weeks of violent anti-Indian street protests that left 15 people dead at the hands of security forces, according to residents.

Fearing that crowds leaving traditional Friday afternoon prayers could turn violent, authorities did not allow residents to enter the main mosques in Srinagar or other major towns, a police officer said. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because government policy barred him from speaking to reporters.

However, authorities did not stop residents from gathering at smaller mosques, where anti-India slogans were broadcast over public address systems, the officer said.

Thousands of people came out from their homes and held streets protests in Baramulla, Kupwara and Budgam towns, police said.

Authorities arrested 60 suspected separatist activists during overnight raids by police and paramilitary soldiers that were aimed at ending the nearly three weeks of protests.

At least 30 activists who had participated in recent street demonstrations were arrested in Anantnag, 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Srinagar, said a police officer who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said at least 30 others were arrested in Srinagar and other towns in Kashmir.

Tens of thousands of troops patrolled the region's streets, while shops and schools were closed. Streets ringed with barbed wire were deserted, and the region's nearly 60 newspapers were unable to publish for a second day Friday.

Despite the curfew, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an umbrella organization of separatist groups, called for more protests.

The tension in the Himalayan region — divided between India and Pakistan — was reminiscent of the late 1980s, when protests against Indian rule sparked an armed conflict that has killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, over the past two decades.

The government's decision to send the army to quell the current protests was intended to prevent them from spiraling out of control and igniting another insurgency.

The Indian army is ubiquitous in Kashmir, but its operations are usually aimed at combating insurgents and it has not been used in crowd control since major street protests in 1990.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the region. India regularly accuses Pakistan of sending insurgents over the heavily militarized frontier to stir trouble and has blamed the current protests on Pakistan-based militants bent on destabilizing India, a charge Islamabad denies.

Kashmiri separatists are demanding independence from Hindu-majority India or a merger with Muslim-majority Pakistan.