At Least 18 Dead in Ramadan Attack on Police Checkpoint in Xinjiang
JUNE 23, 2015—At least 18 people are dead following a knife and bomb attack by a group of ethnic Uyghurs on a police traffic checkpoint in northwestern China’s troubled Xinjiang region, sources said Tuesday, amid harsh restrictions on observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
One source said the incident, which occurred Monday in the Tahtakoruk district of southwestern Xinjiang’s Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) city, left as many as 28 people dead, several of whom were bystanders.
The attack began when a car sped through a traffic checkpoint without stopping, Turghun Memet, an officer with the nearby Heyhag district police station told RFA’s Uyghur Service.
“When one of the policemen at the checkpoint ran out of the booth, the car backed up, hitting him and breaking his leg,” Memet said.
“Two other suspects then rushed out of the car, using knives to attack and kill two police officers who had come to rescue their comrade,” he said.
The remaining traffic police, who do not carry guns, called for backup from Memet’s department and the People’s Armed Police (PAP).
“By the time armed police reached the scene, three more suspects had arrived by sidecar motorcycle and attacked the checkpoint and police cars with explosives, killing one regular police officer, another traffic policeman and one auxiliary officer,” Memet said.
“They also injured four other officers and damaged a police vehicle,” he said.
“At that point, our [armed officers] arrived and killed 15 suspects we designated as terrorists.”
Memet said the car used by the attackers had displayed a license plate from Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture’s Atush (in Chinese, Atushi) city, but he was told they were residents of Kashgar prefecture’s Yengisheher (Shule) and Peyziwat (Jiashi) counties.
“The security is tight in [downtown Kashgar], so they chose to attack an area on the outskirts of the city,” he said.
“They were in possession of simple weapons, so they targeted [an unarmed] traffic police checkpoint.”
Information ‘tightly controlled’
A police officer from Kashgar’s Ostengboyi station, near the site of the attack, confirmed the incident to RFA, but said it was unclear how many people had died.
“The number of the dead varies even among the police—especially when it comes to the number of female suspects,” the officer said on condition of anonymity, adding that he had heard either three or eight women were involved in the attack.
“Some are saying that all of the suspects were killed, while others say some were injured and taken to the hospital for treatment,” he said.
“Information about this kind of incident is always tightly controlled—not even the police are given the details. But people are saying that the dead numbered around 20.”
The officer noted that the attack occurred during the sensitive month of Ramadan and had “a massive effect” on the inhabitants of the city.
“Even the police are panicked and the situation is still very tense right now.”
An officer from the Qoghan police station, which has jurisdiction over the site of the incident, also said the attackers were from Yengisheher and Peyziwat counties, but decided to target Kashgar because the city is more populated.
“I assume that they intended to do more damage in a bigger crowd in Kashgar city,” he said, adding that an investigation into the attack was ongoing.
‘Running for their lives’
A food vendor who works near where the attack occurred said the sound of explosions and prolonged gunfire prompted him to open his shop door a crack so he could see what was happening.
“I saw people running for their lives in all directions when the police fired, including a lot of women who were crying and screaming,” he said, adding that if the women had been among the attackers “they would not have run and cried.”
“We weren’t given any information about the suspects’ identities. The government usually refers to them as ‘terrorists’ in this kind of situation and they may do so this time as well.”
A retired government worker, who also declined to give his name, said he had heard from a police officer that “28 people were killed in the incident, including six attackers and three police, while the others were all bystanders.”
“It seems the police who arrived at the spot were either panicked or encouraged by the ‘strike hard’ policy, because they opened fire indiscriminately and many people who were not linked to the attackers got killed,” he said.
Authorities have launched a “strike hard” campaign in Xinjiang in the name of fighting separatism, religious extremism, and terrorism, following a string of violent incidents that have left hundreds dead in recent years.
The government worker said he believed the incident was prompted by the restrictions put in place by authorities during the month of Ramadan, which he called “very extreme.”
“I think this is the first reaction to this year’s Ramadan restrictions,” he said.
“If such restrictions were implemented in other parts of the [Muslim] world, they would have led to bloody incidents on a mass scale, but we Uyghurs are a defenseless and helpless people and this is the reaction.”
Ramadan restrictions
The attack comes a week after millions of Uyghurs began observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan under increasing official pressure not to fast.
Uyghur officials and other state employees like teachers have been banned from fasting, and it is against the law for children under 18 to take part in religious activities.
Restaurants in the region are typically required to stay open all day, even if the owners are Muslim, and Uyghur children and young people are often required to attend free lunches in the region's schools and universities to avoid the dawn-to-dusk fast traditionally observed during Ramadan.
Turkic-speaking minority Uyghurs have complained about pervasive ethnic discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression by Chinese authorities.
Last October, authorities tightened rules forbidding anyone under the age of 18 from following a religion, targeting families whose children studied the Quran or fasted during Ramadan with hefty fines.
Authorities in the Hotan, Kashgar, and Aksu prefectures of Xinjiang have forced Uyghur parents to sign pledges promising not to allow their children to participate in religious activities, the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress exile group has said.
Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA’s Uyghur Service. Translated by Mamatjan Juma. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
View this story online at: <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/burning-02142013110206.html> http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/attack-06232015182353.html
Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
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All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 23, 2015
Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org>
mahajanr(a)rfa.org
Radio Free Asia Series on China Nuclear Risks Wins at New York Festivals
WASHINGTON - Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> (RFA) last night
won a bronze medal at the New York Festivals' 2015 International Radio
Program Awards <http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/worldsbestradio/2015/> for
its Cantonese Service <http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/?encoding=simplified> 's
investigative series
<http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/features/hottopic/GD-nuclear-power-12012014110
600.html> on China's nuclear energy risks. Titled, "A Citizenry Left in the
Dark: China's Nuclear Power Industry," the series follows on RFA's
revelations in June 2010 when a nuclear power plant in close proximity to
Hong Kong leaked radioactive material. It won in the juried contest's
category of Best Investigative Reporting.
"This award helps to underscore an important issue of safety for the
millions in China who live and work near nuclear plants," said Libby Liu,
President of RFA. "The tireless work of Radio Free Asia's Cantonese Service
brings this story to the people who would otherwise be left in the dark by
Chinese state-controlled media and officials.
"The continued recognition of this story also inspires us at RFA to continue
bringing news to people in Asia who would otherwise not be able to access
uncensored, accurate journalism."
In June 2010, radioactive substances were detected in cooling water at the
Daya Bay nuclear power plant in southern Guangdong, China's most populous
province. After RFA Cantonese broke the story, local authorities claimed
that the danger to the public was "negligible." Four years after the
incident, an RFA undercover film crew traveled to the site to investigate
safety conditions in the area. RFA's team learned that local residents
remain woefully ignorant of the danger of nuclear waste, even though waste
from the power plant is dumped at a site that is five kilometers from where
they live. RFA found also that, in order to prevent the rise of popular
discontent in the aftermath of the 2010 radioactive leak, local authorities
have been providing generous monthly living subsidies to those living within
the immediate vicinity of the plant to quell discontent and concerns among
locals.
RFA's four-part multimedia series, which aired in four parts in December
2014, also explores safety issues surrounding Guangdong's Huizhou Nuclear
Power Plant, one of 26 nuclear power plants under construction in China. The
majority of local residents interviewed by RFA were only vaguely aware, if
at all, of the existence of the nuclear plant, much less the health risks of
living close by. China is in the midst of a serious push to expand its
nuclear power industry to lessen reliance on fossil fuels. What is
troubling, especially in the post-Fukushima era, is that there does not
exist in the country a comprehensive national program to provide citizens
with information on possible public health hazards in their communities; nor
have the authorities established emergency plans and response mechanisms in
the event of a nuclear accident.
The award was presented at a ceremony in New York City. Earlier this year,
the series also won a Sigma Delta Chi award
<http://www.rfa.org/about/releases/sigma-deltachi-04242015113307.html> ,
presented by the Society of Professional Journalists
<https://www.spj.org/index.asp> , in April. Other winners at New York
Festivals included RFA sister broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,
the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation (ABC), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Radio 4, RTE,
and WNYC, among many other esteemed broadcasters from around the world.
# # #
Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and
publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian
languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media.
RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and
expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information
and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by
an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
Rohit Mahajan | Radio Free Asia | Media Relations Manager
<mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M:
202.489.8021
