At least two people killed and many injured in blasts in at least three locations in ethnically divided area of China\u2019s far west<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse in Beijing
The Guardian, Monday 22 September 2014 03.26 EDT <\/p>\n
Two people were killed and many injured as explosions erupted in multiple locations in China\u2019s Xinjiang on Sunday, according to authorities in the ethnically divided region that is on edge after a series of violent incidents this year.<\/p>\n
The blasts struck at least three locations in Luntai county in the region\u2019s south, including a shopping area, the Xinjiang government\u2019s Tianshan web portal said on Monday.<\/p>\n
The report did not say what caused the explosions or give a precise number of injured.<\/p>\n
Clashes between locals and security forces in Xinjiang \u2013 located in China\u2019s far west and home to the mostly-Muslim Uighur minority \u2013 as well as attacks targeting civilians have killed more than 200 people in the past year.<\/p>\n
Beijing blames the violence on \u201cterrorist\u201d groups seeking independence for the region, while rights groups say that cultural and religious oppression of Uighurs has fuelled resentment.<\/p>\n
The attacks have grown in scale and sophistication over the past year and have spread outside the region.<\/p>\n
Among the most shocking attacks was an assault on a market in the regional capital Urumqi in May, where more than 30 people were killed, and a deadly rampage by knife-wielding assailants at a train station at Kunming<\/a> in China\u2019s south-west in March, which left 29 dead.<\/p>\n China launched a crackdown in the region following the Urumqi attack, detaining hundreds of people described as suspected terrorists.<\/p>\n Earlier this month three people who appeared to be Uighur were sentenced to death and another to life in prison for the Kunming knife attack.<\/p>\n Authorities in Xinjiang tightly control religious gatherings and are carrying out a campaign against Islamic veils and beards.<\/p>\n Local officials did not provide details about Sunday\u2019s explosions when contacted by AFP. Media in the region are tightly controlled, making reports hard to verify.<\/p>\n Reports on Chinese social media said a local shopping centre in Luntai was hit by a blast on Sunday.<\/p>\n A woman working at a nearby hotel told AFP that she heard the explosion, but had no other details.<\/p>\n A female member of staff at a separate hotel nearby said the road leading to the shopping centre had been blocked.<\/p>\n \u201cPolice officers can be seen everywhere around the mall,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cChina\u2019s policies have led people to resist fiercely in order to maintain their dignity,\u201d Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress exile group said in a statement in response to the explosions.<\/p>\n Also on Monday state media reported that 17 government officials in Xinjiang had been disciplined for failing to prevent terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n The top Communist party official in Shache county, where clashes in July killed dozens, was among those sacked, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported.<\/p>\n