Seven attackers killed after hostage crisis in northwestern China

[News_Editor]

Seven attackers killed after hostage crisis in northwestern China

2011-12-29 21:19:21 GMT+7 (ICT)

URUMQI, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- Seven people were shot and killed by Chinese security forces on early Thursday morning, hours after they allegedly took hostages in the northwestern region of the country, authorities told state-run media.

The hostage crisis began on late Wednesday evening at around 11 p.m. local time when a group of so-called 'violent terrorists' kidnapped two people in Pishan, which is near the Taklamakan Desert in China's northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

A government spokesperson told the state-run Xinhua news agency that police forces were forced to open fire on the hostage-takers after they resisted arrest. A subsequent exchange of fire resulted in the deaths of seven kidnappers and one police officer. Four other kidnappers and a police officer were injured, but the hostages were freed.

Pishan is located in the ethnic Uygur-dominated area of Xinjiang, where violent incidents are not uncommon. In July, a mob stormed a police station in the nearby city of Hotan, hurling burning gasoline cylinders into rooms, taking hostages and attacking people indiscriminately with axes and knives.

The incident resulted in at least 18 people being killed, including 14 attackers, according to state media. Only a couple days after the attack, at least 13 others were killed in two separate public attacks which occurred in the city of Kashgar, also in Xinjiang. In addition, 44 others were also injured.

No further details were immediately available regarding the hostage crisis on early Thursday morning, but authorities said overseas-trained terrorists were responsible for the attacks in Hotan and Kashgar for which four suspects were sentenced to death by a court in September.

Over eight million Uighurs live in the Central Asian region of Xinjiang. A large number of Uighur are reportedly unhappy about the large migrant Han Chinese settlers, saying that they are making their interests less important and disregarding their culture.

Urumqi, the capital of the region, was the scene of violent clashes between Uighur Muslims and Han Chinese in July 2009, leaving at least 197 people killed and more than 1,700 others injured. The riots were the region's worst ethnic clashes in decades and the violence only stopped when a large number of troops were deployed in the remote western region.

Following the riots, China cut all communications from the region to the rest of the world, including international phone calls, text messaging, and the internet. Thousands of additional security forces have since been deployed and thousands of 'riot-proof' closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) have been set up in public places in an attempt to discourage any violence or unrest.

In late November, the Chinese government transferred more than 3,000 Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officers to the Public Security Bureau in Urumqi. China Radio International said the officers would help to 'maintain stability' in the city, but exact reasons for the sudden deployment were not given.

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