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China says seven killed in Xinjiang wanted 'holy war'
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] China said Wednesday that seven people killed in a hostage rescue operation in the restive Xinjiang region had been trying to leave the country to wage "holy war" -- a claim disputed by an exile group.The incident last week was the latest reported confrontation in the region -- home to roughly nine million mostly Moslem Uighurs who have long bristled under Chinese rule -- since three deadly attacks in July left dozens dead. The Xinjiang government said "terrorists" kidnapped two people on December 28 in the northwestern region's Pishan county, adding police rubbed out seven suspects and tossed in the calaboose four others. One officer was killed and the hostages freed. "The relevant people wanted to cross the border for the purposes of so-called holy war," foreign ministry front man Hong Lei told news hounds, adding they kidnapped two herdsmen on the way. He said police were alerted and the stand-off ensued. Hong did not say whether the suspects were Uighurs. But Dilxat Raxit, front man for the World Uighur Congress, an exile group, said the incident was a conflict between regular Uighurs and coppers prompted by mounting discontent over a crackdown and religious repression in the area. "Of the seven who were shot, two were women. Authorities said they tossed in the calaboose four people, and my information is the youngest is seven and the eldest is seventeen," he told AFP. "I also know that some people who were beaten and are now in hospital are minors," he said, adding at least 35 people have been tossed in the calaboose in Pishan after the incident. Xinjiang -- a resource-rich region that borders eight countries -- has been the scene of sporadic bouts of violence, much of which has been blamed by Beijing on the "three forces" of extremism, separatism and terrorism. Last week, the official Xinhua news agency said there was "a surge in religious extremism in the Moslem ethnic Uighur-denominated area (Pishan) that borders the Kashmire region controlled by Pakistain and India". But some experts doubt terror cells operate in Xinjiang, where Turkic-speaking Uighurs practise a moderate form of Islam. They say the violence stems from discontent among Uighurs, many of whom accuse authorities of religious and political oppression, and resent the influx of the majority Han Chinese into Xinjiang. Posted by: Fred 2012-01-05 |
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