12 killed in riots in China's Xinjiang province

[News_Editor]

12 killed in riots in China's Xinjiang province

2012-02-29 08:49:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

BEIJING (BNO NEWS) -- At least 12 people were killed on Tuesday in riots near the northwestern city of Kashgar in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, state media reported.

The Xinhua news agency said that "rioters" armed with knives attacked people in a market in Yecheng county. At least 10 people were killed, while police shot dead two of the rioters.

The report said police are still hunting some of the rioters, but it didn't give details as to what might have triggered the violence. The information could not be immediately independently verified.

Security has been high in the northwestern province since the 2009 riots in the capital Urumqi between Muslim Uighurs, who are the largest ethnic group, and migrants from China's majority Han. Nearly 200 people were killed, most of them Han, according to officials.

In addition, dozens of people were killed in July 2011 in three deadly attacks. Chinese authorities stepped up already tight security in Xinjiang after the attacks.

The Chinese government claims the attacks were orchestrated by separatist groups in Xinjiang. However, Uighur activists say citizens are angry at Beijing's heavy-handed rule in the region.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-02-29

[Steely Dan]

Hmm, China has it's own Muslim separatist problems - It will be interesting to see how they deal with the situation, though I don't think there will be the same kid gloves/what did we do wrong approach adopted by most democracies when faced with similar problems.

[Scott]

An off-topic post has been deleted. The OP is about China--not Egypt or Libya.