50 dead in Xinjiang coal mine attack as China marks 60th anniversary of region's founding
At least 50 people died as knife-wielding men attacked a coal mine in Xinjiang last month, according to a media report and the World Uygur Congress.
The incident was not reported by state media.
The report on the attack came as the region marked the 60th anniversary on Thursday of the establishment of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Attending one of the anniversary events on Wednesday, Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said troops in the region should play a bigger role in fighting separatism, terrorism and extremism.
US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that 50 people, most of them Han Chinese, were killed in the September 18 attack at the Sogan colliery in Aksu prefecture. Most of the victims were migrant workers from rural Sichuan. Among the dead were five police officers. Another 50 were injured, according to the report.
Nearly all the workers who were not on shift at the time were killed or injured
"Nearly all the workers who were not on shift at the time were killed or injured," police officer Ekber Hashim told RFA. "Some workers were sleeping while others were preparing to work when the attackers raided the building after killing the security guards."
When police officers arrived on the scene, attackers "rammed their vehicles using trucks loaded down with coal", the report quoted one man from Sichuan as saying. The police blamed knife-wielding separatists, it said.
Calls to the Xinjiang government went unanswered.
Dilxat Rexit, a spokesman for the Germany-based World Uygur Congress, confirmed the attack took place in Bay Nahiyisi, in Aksu, last month. He said it was the result of Beijing's ethnic policies over the past six decades.
The high-profile 60th anniversary events also added to discontent among Uygurs, he said.
The colliery, consisting of three separate coal mine shafts, had a six-storey dormitory to house its 300-400 workers - around 90 per cent of whom were Han Chinese, RFA reported.
Beijing has said it faces a serious threat from Islamist militants and separatists in Xinjiang, where hundreds have died in violence in recent years.
Yu has been in Urumqi at the helm of a 69-member central government delegation attending the anniversary events since Sunday. "Firmly fighting violent terrorist activities should be the priority of our battle at present," Xinhua quoted Yu as saying.
Read more: Massacre at Chinese coal mine: Knife-wielding separatists blamed for attack in Xinjiang that killed at least 50 as racial tensions flare
Yu, a Politburo Standing Committee member who oversees Xinjiang affairs, also met senior officials from the military district, armed police and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in Urumqi.
Yu told a meeting last month that a government-backed aid programme to send professionals to Xinjiang should also aim to curb "terrorism". The programme was previously limited to economic development.
