8 Dead after Knife Attack in China's Western Xinjiang Region

Eight people were killed in China's far western Xinjiang region, including three knife-wielding assailants, in the latest outbreak of violence in the volatile territory, authorities said Wednesday.

According to a statement posted on the local government's website, the attack occurred Tuesday evening in Pishan county in southern Xinjiang, home to China's Uighur ethnic minority. It said the three also injured five others before being shot dead by police.

Uighurs are predominantly Muslim Turkic-speaking people distinct from the Chinese-speaking Han national majority. They have long chafed under the rule of Beijing, more than 1,800 miles (3,000 km) away from the provincial capital of Urumqi.

While Xinjiang is one of China's five autonomous regions, its Uighur residents are often prevented from leaving the region and face other restrictions enacted by Beijing, which has ratcheted up security dramatically since deadly anti-government riots broke out in Urumqi in 2009.

The statement did not say whether Tuesday's assailants were linked to ETIM (East Turkestan Islamic Movement), which has carried out a string of attacks inside and outside China. It called the assailants "thugs" and said officials had restored "social order" while continuing to investigate the incident. The ethnic backgrounds of the attackers and their victims were not specified.
  (Tasnim)
15/2/17
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