Army soldiers stand guard atop an armoured vehicle after a gun battle between security forces and militants at Chatergam area of Kashmir’s Budgam district on November 28, 2018

Srinagar: Separatists on Monday urged the United Nations Secretary-General to take steps to resolve the Kashmir issue.

Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, in a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, alleged human rights violations in the Valley.

They said a commission should be established to end the cycles of violence and "ensure accountability" as the conflict has consumed many lives in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the letter to Guterres on the international human rights day, they criticised the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives special powers to security forces in 'disturbed' areas.