China stages another mass show of military force in restive Xinjiang

Chinese security forces have staged another mass anti-terror rally in the restive far western region of Xinjiang, parading hundreds of armed men through the streets of the regional capital Urumqi in a show of force after an uptick in violence.

Hundreds have died in Xinjiang in the past few years, mostly in unrest between the Muslim Uygur people, who call the region home, and the ethnic majority Han Chinese. Beijing blames the unrest on Islamist militants.

The Xinjiang government’s news website on Saturday showed pictures of hundreds of gun-toting police and soldiers standing in front of a government building shouting pledges to defeat terror, and lines of armoured vehicles driving though the streets.

Xinjiang deputy party secretary Zhu Hailun said the Urumqi rally, following on from ones in Kashgar and Hotan in Xinjiang’s Uygur heartland in the region’s deep south, were a sign of “real action” to deepen the fight against terror.

Militants and extremists would be “smashed and destroyed”, Zhu said.