Baren Township riot

The Baren Township conflict was an armed conflict that took place between ethnic Uyghur militants and Chinese government forces in April 1990. It is unclear what happened during the armed conflict because reports of the incident vary greatly.

Chinese account

According to Chinese records, four major planning meetings were held in the run up to the terrorist attack, one of which was devoted to the procuring of supplies, including weapons and white uniforms. Toward the end of March 1990, the terrorists ran a training camp to prepare for the fight ahead. Stolen money was used to buy weapons and vehicles. According to Chinese records, the Uyghur terrorists were forced to move more quickly than they had intended because their plot was on the verge of being discovered. Hundreds of homemade bombs were made in a blacksmith shop in Kashgar and transported to Barin before the rebellion. (Sourced to the ''Xinjiang Public Security Gazette'' (), pages 790-795)

Chinese sources state that the attack was initiated by 200 Uyghur terrorists armed with advanced weaponry who attacked Chinese paramilitary and local police forces throughout the township of Barin (Baren). These reports indicate that Afghani militia forces may have been directly involved. Reportedly, Afghan-trained Islamists set up loudspeakers in mosques of Barin Township urging the local Uyghur population to "rise up against Chinese oppression and work toward establishing an independent Uyghur Islamic state" while praising jihad. A large group of terrorists reportedly attacked and burned a police bus, beheading the police officers with knives and taking their weapons. In response, Chinese government forces crushed the riot by force over the course of three days.

TIP account

On April 5, 1990, in Kizilsu's Akto County and in the township of Barin (Baren), Zeydin Yusup, the leader of the East Turkistan Islamic Party, led a protest with around 200 men. They marched to the local government office and demanded an end to the mass immigration of Han Chinese into Xinjiang. One source states that the protests were the result of 250 forced abortions imposed upon local Uyghur women by the Chinese government. Another source states that the protests were the result of local Uyghurs not being allowed to build a mosque.

The Chinese government initially sent in a detachment of armed police to the site of the disturbance. The Uyghur forces and the authorities started fighting, and the violence spread through the town. The uprising, which lasted for several days, ended when the Chinese government sent hundreds of heavily armed police and soldiers to quell the riots.

Aftermath

One source states that the conflict ended on April 10, 1990, with 23 dead total and 21 injured, and that 232 Uyghur fighters were captured. In July 1990 the Chinese government in Xinjiang announced the arrest of 7,900 people citing the "criminal activities of ethnic splittists and other criminal offenders" as the reason.

Persons reportedly killed in association with this event include: Abdugeni Tursun, 22, Isakkary Bayhan, 30, Yolwas Tohti, 28, Ablimit Palty, 18, and Ababekir Turghun, 20. Persons arrested in conjunction with this event include: Mahat Hasan, Urayim Amet, Abaydulla Marop Damola, Abdul Kadir, Abdurahim Turdi, Ahad Allahverdi (Allawardy), Aysa Yoldash, Aziz Kurban, Husein Kurban, Hasim Yusuf, Ibrahim Ahmed, Ismail Haji, Jelil Aval, Jamal Muhammed, Kerim Kari, Kurban Juma, Mehmut (Memet) Rozi, Muhammad Amin Yapkan, Muhammed Emin Omer, Mukaram Haji Nenim (Henim), Rahmanjan Ahmed, Rozi Hashim, Rozi Juma, Sulayman Eysa (Isa), Tohti Islam, Turdi Obul, Turgan Abdulkarim, Turgunjan Muhammed, Yasin Turdi.

In 2020, the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile commemorated the thirtieth anniversary of the event in its official journal.

In April 2021, the Chinese ambassador to Turkey was summoned after responding to statements by Turkish politicians Meral Akşener and Mansur Yavaş in commemoration of those killed in the event.

References

{{Xinjiang topics

Political riots
Xinjiang conflict
1990 in China
1990 riots
East Turkestan independence movement