A Chinese official says 13 people were killed on Monday in the latest outbreak of violence in the western region of Xinjiang.<\/p>\n
29 July 2014 Last updated at 05:07 ET<\/p>\n
A Chinese official says 13 people were killed on Monday in the latest outbreak of violence in the western region of Xinjiang.<\/p>\n
The regional official told the BBC the incident took place in Yarkant, a town near the border with Tajikistan.<\/p>\n
All the victims are understood to be Han Chinese. The area is seen as the heartland of the region’s Muslim Uighur ethnic minority.<\/p>\n
Official media and government news sources have not reported the attack.<\/p>\n
Confirming details of incidents in Xinjiang is difficult, because the flow of information is tightly controlled.<\/p>\n
The BBC’s Damian Grammaticas says the lack of official reporting on the incident may be an attempt to prevent any worsening of ethnic or religious tensions in the area.<\/p>\n
In 2009, large-scale ethnic rioting between Han Chinese and Uighur communities in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, left some 200 people – mostly Han Chinese – dead.<\/p>\n
In recent months there has been an upsurge in Xinjiang-linked violence that authorities have attributed to Uighur separatists.<\/p>\n
In May at least 31 people were killed when two cars crashed through an Urumqi market and explosives were thrown. In March, a mass stabbing at Kunming railway station killed 29 people.<\/p>\n
In response Chinese authorities have launched a year-long security campaign which includes increased police and troop presence in key cities and towns in Xinjiang.<\/p>\n
Uighur rights groups say there is considerable resentment against Chinese rule in Xinjiang, in particular restrictions on religious and cultural freedoms.<\/p>\n
China says it is investing heavily in the region to improve people’s lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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