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Unrest in China¡¦s
Xinjiang region leaves 10 dead
AFP, BEIJING
China¡¦s Xinjiang region was hit by a wave of violence at the weekend that saw 10
people killed by knife-wielding assailants and another four shot dead by police,
state media and authorities said yesterday.
The unrest happened in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar in two separate
attacks and local residents said yesterday the city center was under lockdown,
with security forces patrolling the streets.
Xinjiang has seen several outbreaks of ethnic violence in recent years as the
mainly Muslim Uighur minority bridles under what it regards as oppression by the
Chinese government.
In the first attack on Saturday evening, seven people were killed and 28 others
hurt at a night market by two attackers with knives, one of whom was later
killed in violence, the authorities said.
DETAINED
Hou Hanmin («Jº~±Ó), spokeswoman for the government of the northwestern region,
said the attackers were both Uighurs, adding the suspect who was still alive had
been detained.
¡§The case is still under investigation, so I don¡¦t have more information,¡¨ she
said.
Yesterday, three people were ¡§hacked to death¡¨ by ¡§rioters,¡¨ Xinhua news agency
said.
It had earlier reported they died in an explosion, but a follow-up report left
it unclear whether there had been a blast or not.
A posting on China¡¦s Twitter-like Weibo service by a producer from China Central
Television, China¡¦s state television station, said gunshots were heard, not an
explosion.
Police shot dead four suspects allegedly involved in the attack and detained
four others, Xinhua said, while another four were on the run.
BYSTANDERS HURT
The agency said more than 10 bystanders and police officers were also injured.
The government spokeswoman was not available when contacted about yesterday¡¦s
bout of violence.
A receptionist at a restaurant near a street where yesterday¡¦s violence took
place said the road had been blocked off.
¡§Neither cars nor pedestrian are allowed to enter. There are police patrolling
everywhere,¡¨ the receptionist said.
A hotel receptionist described the current situation in Kashgar as a ¡§mess.¡¨
According to tianshannet.com, a Web site run by the regional government, the
suspects in Saturday¡¦s attack hijacked a truck that was waiting at a light at
the food market in Kashgar, not far from the border with Kyrgyzstan.
They killed the driver, plowed the vehicle into passers-by on a nearby pavement,
then got out of the truck and stabbed people at random, leaving six bystanders
dead before the crowd turned on them and killed one attacker.
Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress ¡X an exile
group ¡X cited local sources as saying the assailants had clashed with members of
a civilian force that maintains public security.
He did not give specific details of yesterday¡¦s attack, but called for China to
¡§immediately stop its long-term, systematic repressive measures ... to prevent
further unrest.¡¨
Raxit said at least 100 Uighurs had been detained following Saturday¡¦s incident.
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