CHINA: Foreign Ministry says violence that killed 16 in the restive Xinjiang region the work of a "violent terror gang"

Record ID: 574236

  • Title: CHINA: Foreign Ministry says violence that killed 16 in the restive Xinjiang region the work of a "violent terror gang"
  • Date: 16th December 2013
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (DECEMBER 16, 2013) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG FLYING CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN HUA CHUNYING WALKING INTO NEWS BRIEFING JOURNALISTS SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN HUA CHUNYING SAYING: "What police in Xinjiang broke up was a violent terror gang. This gang used explosive devices to attack law enforcement officials. It once again showed the true face of violent terrorists who oppose the government and humankind. It should be condemned by all people who love peace and stability." MEDIA SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN HUA CHUNYING SAYING: "At present, the people of Xinjiang long for stability and a happy life. A small number of violent terror elements use all means possible to damage Xinjiang's social and economic stability and its ethnic unity. This kind of conspiracy does not enjoy popular support and is doomed to failure." NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS
  • Embargoed: 31st December 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAB5O1L6UBF36VRL9ZWDF1K1J5V
  • Story Text: Chinese police shot and killed 14 people during a riot near the old Silk Road city of Kashgar in which two policemen were also killed, the local government said on Monday (December 16), the latest unrest in a region that has a substantial Muslim population.
    Describing the incident which happened late Sunday, Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stopped short of directly blaming Islamist militants but said a "violent terror gang" attacked police with explosives.

    "What police in Xinjiang broke up was a violent terror gang. This gang used explosive devices to attack law enforcement officials. It once again showed the true face of violent terrorists who oppose the government and humankind. It should be condemned by all people who love peace and stability," she told reporters in a regular news briefing.
    China has previously called some of the violence in the far western region of Xinjiang the work of Islamist militants plotting a holy war.
    The regional government said police were attacked by a mob throwing explosive devices and wielding knives when they went to arrest "criminal suspects" in a village near Kashgar.
    The government said in a brief statement that two people had also been detained and that an investigation had been launched.

    "At present, the people of Xinjiang long for stability and a happy life. A small number of violent terror elements use all means possible to damage Xinjiang's social and economic stability and its ethnic unity. This kind of conspiracy does not enjoy popular support and is doomed to failure," Hua said.
    In a similar outburst of violence, at least nine civilians and two policemen were killed when a group of people armed with axes and knives attacked a police station also near Kashgar last month, state media said.
    Rights groups and exiles say police often use heavy-handed tactics against the Muslim Uighur community, which calls Xinjiang home.
    China has stepped up security in Xinjiang after a vehicle ploughed into tourists on the edge of Beijing's Tiananmen Square in October, killing the three people in the car and two bystanders.
    China said the attack was carried out by Islamist militants, and has reacted angrily to suggestions that it was because of frustration and anger over government repression of the region's Muslims.
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