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Chinese Police Say 3 Killed by Officers Were Xinjiang Terrorists Chinese Police Say 3 Who Were Killed by Officers Were ‘Xinjiang Terrorists’
(about 1 hour later)
HONG KONG — The police in a northeastern Chinese city said on Tuesday that they had shot and killed three men who they said belonged to a terrorist organization, and who they said lashed out with knives and shouted jihadist slogans when officers tried to enter their apartment. HONG KONG — The police in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang said on Tuesday that they had shot and killed three men who they said belonged to a terrorist organization, and who they said lashed out with knives and shouted jihadist slogans when officers tried to enter their apartment.
The men killed on Monday were from the far western region of Xinjiang, the police in the northeastern city, Shenyang, said in a statement. A woman was wounded by police gunfire, and another woman, identified as an ethnic Uighur from Xinjiang, was taken into custody along with three children, according to the statement. The men killed on Monday were from the far western region of Xinjiang, the Shenyang police said in a statement. A woman was wounded by police gunfire, and another woman, identified as an ethnic Uighur from Xinjiang, was taken into custody along with three children, according to the statement.
The police did not respond to interview requests Tuesday, and an overseas Uighur advocacy group questioned the official description of the incident. The police did not respond to interview requests on Tuesday, and an overseas Uighur advocacy group questioned the official description of the incident.
The police statement said the clash occurred during an investigation of a case involving a little-known group called Hijrah Jihad. According to the statement, officers who tried to enter the Shenyang apartment on Monday retreated when people inside brandished knives. After a larger number of officers surrounded the building and snipers were positioned nearby, the police stormed the apartment a second time and shot the four people as they confronted officers with knives and clubs, according to the statement, which referred to the four as “Xinjiang terrorists.” The police statement said the clash occurred during an investigation of a case involving a little-known group called Hijrah Jihad. According to the statement, officers who tried to enter the apartment in Shenyang on Monday retreated when people inside brandished knives.
In 2009, a group of 23 defendants who were convicted in a Shenyang court of advocating independence for Xinjiang included alleged members of Hijrah Jihad, according to a report by the Dui Hua Foundation, a human rights group based in San Francisco. After a larger number of officers surrounded the building and snipers were positioned nearby, the police stormed the apartment a second time and shot the four people as they confronted officers with knives and clubs, according to the statement, which referred to the four as “Xinjiang terrorists.”
Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, based in Germany, accused the Chinese government of labeling the suspects as terrorists “for political purposes to shirk its responsibility for their deaths.” He said dozens of Uighurs in the Shenyang area who had hoped to flee China through its northern borders had been detained and that those who were shot had refused to cooperate. In 2009, a group of 23 defendants who were convicted in a Shenyang court of advocating independence for Xinjiang included people suspected of being members of Hijrah Jihad, according to a report by the Dui Hua Foundation, a human rights group based in San Francisco.
Last week, Thailand sent about 100 Uighurs who had fled China back to the country, despite criticism from the United Nations’ refugee organization that the deportation violated international law. The Chinese state media said that some of the Uighurs had planned to join terrorist groups; photos showed some of them being returned on an airplane, seated next to security officers, with hoods over their heads. Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, based in Germany, accused the Chinese government of labeling the suspects terrorists “for political purposes to shirk its responsibility for their deaths.” He said that dozens of Uighurs in the Shenyang area who had hoped to flee China through its northern borders had been detained and that those who were shot had refused to cooperate.
Last week, Thailand sent about 100 Uighurs who had fled China back to the country, despite criticism from the United Nations’ refugee organization that the deportation violated international law. The Chinese state news media said that some of the Uighurs had planned to join terrorist groups; photographs showed some of them being returned on an airplane, seated next to security officers, with hoods over their heads.
Uighurs are a Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim group from Xinjiang. They face discrimination in China, and some say the authorities severely restrict their culture, language and religion. Some Uighurs advocate independence for Xinjiang, and a small number have used violence for that cause.Uighurs are a Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim group from Xinjiang. They face discrimination in China, and some say the authorities severely restrict their culture, language and religion. Some Uighurs advocate independence for Xinjiang, and a small number have used violence for that cause.
Such attacks have largely been directed against security services, but the Chinese authorities have blamed Uighur extremists for a handful of attacks on civilians in recent years.Such attacks have largely been directed against security services, but the Chinese authorities have blamed Uighur extremists for a handful of attacks on civilians in recent years.
Last year a group armed with long knives attacked passengers at a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming, killing 31. In 2013, a sport utility vehicle plowed through a crowd near Tiananmen Square in Beijing and burst into flames, killing five, including three people in the vehicle, and injuring dozens. Officials attributed the attacks to Uighur jihadist groups. Last year, a group armed with long knives attacked passengers at a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming, killing 31. In 2013, a sport utility vehicle plowed through a crowd near Tiananmen Square in Beijing and burst into flames, killing five, including three people in the vehicle, and injuring dozens. Officials attributed the attacks to Uighur jihadist groups.