E-Paper
Violence erupts in China's Xinjiang region, 12 people killed
A spate of violence in the remote northwestern province of Xinjiang region in China has claimed at least 12 lives including that of two rioters since Tuesday evening.
A spate of violence in the remote northwestern province of Xinjiang region in China has claimed at least 12 lives including that of two rioters since Tuesday evening.
According to China's official news agency, Xinhua, protesters killed at least 10 people; in retaliation the police shot dead two of the rioters.
The incidents took place in the ancient city of Kashgar, located in the Yencheng area of this vast province where the majority of the population is Muslim Uighurs.
The other dominant community is the Han Chinese, which is the majority by far in the rest of the country. The region is more than 3500 km away from Beijing and borders parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
No details were given by Xinhua about what might have triggered the violence; it's almost impossible to verify news independently from this remote region.
Till late in the morning on Wednesday, the news was blacked out by other news agencies here like the state television company, CCTV.
