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| Death Toll in Xinjiang Violence May Be Higher Than Reported | Death Toll in Xinjiang Violence May Be Higher Than Reported |
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| BEIJING — Violent clashes last weekend in the Xinjiang region of western China killed and injured a higher number of people than state media had reported, witnesses and Western news media have indicated in recent days. | |
| Citing local officials and residents, Radio Free Asia, which is funded by the United States government, said on Thursday that more than a dozen people had been killed — including three police officers — and around 100 wounded in the violence, which took place on Sunday in three towns in the southern county of Bugur, known as Luntai in Chinese. | |
| On Monday, the Xinjiang government’s Tianshan website said two people had been killed and referred to the episodes as “explosions.” | |
| Witnesses told Radio Free Asia that crowds of ethnic Uighurs in the town of Yengisar, angry over forced mass evictions to make way for Han Chinese migrants, had raided government offices and a police station. The police station was later bombed by the Uighur attackers, the report said. | Witnesses told Radio Free Asia that crowds of ethnic Uighurs in the town of Yengisar, angry over forced mass evictions to make way for Han Chinese migrants, had raided government offices and a police station. The police station was later bombed by the Uighur attackers, the report said. |
| A man who picked up the phone at the Luntai County morgue on Thursday confirmed the higher death toll. “On Monday, there were over 30 family members coming to collect the corpses,” said the man, who refused to give his name and did not specify the number of bodies. | A man who picked up the phone at the Luntai County morgue on Thursday confirmed the higher death toll. “On Monday, there were over 30 family members coming to collect the corpses,” said the man, who refused to give his name and did not specify the number of bodies. |
| Posting to her Sina Weibo microblog, a local student wrote on Monday: “Now, no matter what hospital you go to in Luntai you see the people injured from yesterday’s blast.” | Posting to her Sina Weibo microblog, a local student wrote on Monday: “Now, no matter what hospital you go to in Luntai you see the people injured from yesterday’s blast.” |
| The Chinese government blames foreign-backed terrorists, religious extremists and ethnic separatists for a wave of violence in Xinjiang that has killed more than 200 people in the past year. | |
| Uighur activists and international human rights groups say that intrusive Chinese restrictions on religion, language and culture, as well as state-sponsored ethnic discrimination, have radicalized the Uighur population. | Uighur activists and international human rights groups say that intrusive Chinese restrictions on religion, language and culture, as well as state-sponsored ethnic discrimination, have radicalized the Uighur population. |
| On Tuesday, a court in the regional capital sentenced a Uighur academic, Ilham Tohti, to life in prison for separatism, drawing international condemnation. As evidence against Mr. Tohti, prosecutors said he had discussed Uighur frustrations in his classroom, run a website devoted to Uighur issues and spoken with foreign journalists. Court documents said he had “exploited foreign forces to create pressure to make Xinjiang an international matter.” | On Tuesday, a court in the regional capital sentenced a Uighur academic, Ilham Tohti, to life in prison for separatism, drawing international condemnation. As evidence against Mr. Tohti, prosecutors said he had discussed Uighur frustrations in his classroom, run a website devoted to Uighur issues and spoken with foreign journalists. Court documents said he had “exploited foreign forces to create pressure to make Xinjiang an international matter.” |
| Rohan Gunaratna, the head of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, disputed the Chinese government’s claims that all violence in Xinjiang is the work of terrorists. | Rohan Gunaratna, the head of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, disputed the Chinese government’s claims that all violence in Xinjiang is the work of terrorists. |
| “Most of the incidents, including attacks, are spontaneous,” he said. “They’re not planned and directed.” Mr. Gunaratna added that China’s focus on economic development in Xinjiang had failed to address longstanding ethnic grievances. “Beijing has invested in building infrastructure but not in creating reconciliation,” he said. | “Most of the incidents, including attacks, are spontaneous,” he said. “They’re not planned and directed.” Mr. Gunaratna added that China’s focus on economic development in Xinjiang had failed to address longstanding ethnic grievances. “Beijing has invested in building infrastructure but not in creating reconciliation,” he said. |