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China: 21 killed in Kashgar clashes China: 21 killed in Kashgar clashes
(about 5 hours later)
Fifteen police officers and community workers have been killed and six "gangsters" shot dead in a clash in Kashgar, in China's north-western region of Xinjiang, according to official media. Fifteen police officers and community workers have been killed and six suspects shot dead in a clash in Kashgar, in China's north-western region of Xinjiang, officials say.
Community workers visiting a family in Bachu county, also known as Maralbexi, found "suspicious persons" and knives that should not have been held domestically, the Tianshan website said. It is thought to be the deadliest single incident in the region since 2009, when almost 200 people died in vicious inter-ethnic riots in its capital, Urumqi.
When they alerted senior officials, the workers were taken hostage by gangsters hidden inside the house, the report said. It added that the gang attacked police and officials who rushed to the scene, killed the hostages and set the house on fire. The Xinjiang government spokeswoman Hou Hanmin said three community workers were patrolling in Bachu county, also known as Maralbexi, after a tip-off that there were "suspicious people" in a private house.
Six members of the gang were killed during the clash and eight were captured by police in the area, which lies about 125 miles (200km) east of Kashgar city. They were taken hostage when one of them used a phone to call for help after finding knives in the house. The 14-strong gang hiding at the house then attacked police and officials who rushed to the scene with axes and large knives, killed the hostages and set the house on fire, Hou added.
The report said a preliminary investigation showed the gang was planning to launch terrorist activities. Six members were shot dead during the clash and eight were captured by police in the area, said a state media report on the case, adding that a preliminary investigation showed the gang "were planning to launch terrorist activities".
The Xinjiang government propaganda office confirmed the report but had no further details. Calls to police and the government in Bachu county rang unanswered. "The community people were just conducting regular checks, but the action from the rioters was planned and well prepared … It's certainly a terrorist attack," Hou said.
The region has a history of violent incidents, including vicious inter-ethnic riots in 2009 in the capital, Urumqi, in which almost 200 people died. The government said 10 of the police and officials killed were Uighurs, three were Han Chinese, and two were of Mongolian ethnicity. It said two other Uighurs were injured. It did not give the ethnicity of the assailants.
Many in Xinjiang's large Uighur Muslim population are angered by Beijing's restrictions on their religion and culture and by mass Han Chinese immigration. Some seek a separate state. Calls to police and the government in Bachu county rang unanswered.
Officials did not name a particular group, but in the past have often blamed outbreaks of violence on separatists seeking an independent Xinjiang.
Many in Xinjiang's large Uighur Muslim population are angered by Beijing's restrictions on their religion and culture, policies such as resettlement, and immigration from other parts of China, which they fear has marginalised them. Some seek a separate state.
Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, said the violence was sparked by the shooting and killing of a young Uighur by "Chinese armed personnel" during an illegal search of homes, citing local sources.
He dismissed the claim of terrorism, insisting: "They always use such labels as a way of justifying their use of armed force."
He said that the authorities had flooded the area with armed officers overnight.
"China has made many unproven and questionable statements about terrorism in the region. That does not mean there isn't anti-state violence happening there, but we should take with a lot of caution any claim of terrorism," said Nicholas Bequelin, senior Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch."China has made many unproven and questionable statements about terrorism in the region. That does not mean there isn't anti-state violence happening there, but we should take with a lot of caution any claim of terrorism," said Nicholas Bequelin, senior Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
He added: "There are a lot of deaths and a dearth of explanation about them. Every time an incident has been investigated, it brings up elements that challenge profoundly the version put out by authorities."He added: "There are a lot of deaths and a dearth of explanation about them. Every time an incident has been investigated, it brings up elements that challenge profoundly the version put out by authorities."
He noted that there were criminal gangs in Xinjiang that could not necessarily be linked to terrorism, and added: "Anything that is outside of state-controlled religion is viewed by the Chinese government as illegal religious activity – and anything viewed as illegal religious activity is in turn associated with terrorism." He noted that there were criminal gangs in Xinjiang which could not necessarily be linked to terrorism, and added: "Anything that is outside of state-controlled religion is viewed by the Chinese government as illegal religious activity – and anything viewed as illegal religious activity is in turn associated with terrorism."
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