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Violet Law

China’s western region of Xinjiang has been plagued by violent attacks over the years, which Beijing blames on Uygur separatists.
It has claimed Uygur separatists have gone to Central Asia and Syria for training as “jihadists” (holy warriors), and sneaked back to Xinjiang to plot attacks.
Five dead in car bomb terror attack in China’s western Xinjiang region, official media reports
However, some people from the Muslim-dominated region have complained about Beijing’s repressive policies, which they claim restrict religious freedom.
Passports taken, more police ... new party boss Chen Quanguo acts to tame Xinjiang with methods used in Tibet

Here we take a look at some of the violent attacks and riots in the region during past years.
2008
March 7: Uygur woman, 19, tries to blow up passenger plane flying from Urumqi to Beijing, according to Ministry of Public Security
August 4: Sixteen police officers killed and 16 others hurt in Kashgar when two Uygurs ram truck into squad of jogging armed policemen, Xinhua reports
2009
July 5: Clashes between Uygurs and Han Chinese leave 197 dead and more than 1,600 injured in Urumqi
September 16: Police detain six suspects for making more than 20 bombs, Public Security Ministry says; bombs and materials to make more explosives found at three sites on outskirts of Aksu
2013
March 8: At least four people killed and eight others injured in knife attack in Korla in central Xinjiang, regional officials say. Fight was dispute over money at gaming arcade, The New York Times quotes local hotel manager as saying
2014
July 28: Some 96 people die in Shache in riots that coincide with Eid al-Fitr holiday, according to official accounts, in what is deadliest violence in region in five years. According to officials, 37 civilians killed and 59 assailants shot dead by police. An additional 215 people arrested. Overseas Uygur rights group calls it massacre, saying thousands were killed
2015
September 18: At least 50 people die, including five police officers, in attack on coal mine in central western county of Baicheng in Aksu, Radio Free Asia reports. Local police blame knife-wielding separatists


China’s Xinjiang region plagued by violent attacks that Beijing blames on Uygur separatists

Specially trained Chinese police hold an anti-terror exercise in Urumqi, in the Xinjiang region, which has been plagued by violence in recent years. Photo: Xinhua

A policeman from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team touches his gun as he stands back-to-back with fellow policemen to monitor all directions, at the South Railway Station, where three people were killed and 79 wounded in Wednesday's bomb and knife attack, in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous region, May 2, 2014. China's foreign ministry has reacted angrily to U.S. criticism of the level of cooperation from Beijing on fighting terrorism, after the apparent suicide bombing in the country's far west pointed to a possible escalation of unrest there. The three killed included the two assailants. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic (CHINA - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST)

New Communist Party boss for Xinjiang ‘faces challenges’ in easing unrest

A room burned in what local authorities say was a terrorist attack on a Communist Party office in Karakax county in Xinjiang on Wednesday. Photo: Thepaper.com

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Beijing claims Uygur separatists are trained as jihadists in Central Asia and Syria, but people in Muslim-dominated region complain about repressive policies
