New | Beijing launches armed patrol force in wake of civilian attacks

More than 1,300 armed police and 150 patrol vehicles took to Beijing's streets today as the government stepped up security measures following a series of violent attacks on civilians at public facilities.

As the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown approaches, Beijing authorities have vowed that the units will be their “most important” force on the streets as they make it their “exclusive responsibility” to fight “terrorism and serious crimes of violence”, according to the Beijing Times newspaper, quoting the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (PSB).

With maximum striking force and minimum response time, the new armed patrol units are built with what the newspaper called a double-three standard: each unit will cover a street section less than three kilometres long, and the site of any incident can be reached within three minutes, the newspaper reported.

The armed patrol force comes in the wake of a series of attacks on public places in China which have resulted in multiple deaths and injuries.

An attack on Kunming train station two months ago saw a group of nine suspects hack at commuters with knives for nearly half an hour, leaving 29 dead and more than 140 injured.

Earlier this month, a knife attack on Guangzhou train station left several people injured.