The Battle of Kashgar () was a military confrontation that took place in 1934 during the

Xinjiang Wars The Xinjiang Wars () were a series of armed conflicts which took place within Xinjiang in the Republic of China during the Warlord Era and Chinese Civil War. The wars also played an important role in the East Turkestan independence movement. ...

. Turkic Muslim Uyghur and Kirghiz fighters under Emir

Abdullah Bughra Abdullah Bughra ( ug, (Kona Yëziq) ئابدۇللا بۇغرا, عبد الله بغرا; zh, c=阿不都拉·布格拉, p=Ābùdūlā·Bùgélā; died 1934) was a Uighur Emir of the First East Turkestan Republic. He was the younger brother o ...

and other Turkic separatists began four separate attacks over a six-day period on Hui and

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

soldiers led by Gen.

Ma Zhancang Ma Zhancang (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a Hui Chinese Muslim general of the New 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army), who served under Generals Ma Zhongying and Ma Hushan. At the Battle of Kashgar (1933), he repulsed an attack of Uighurs led ...

, trapping them inside Kashgar.

Khoja Niyas Hajji Khoja Niyaz, also Khoja Niyaz Haji ( ug, خوجا نىياز ھاجى, Xoja Niyaz Haji; ; 1889 – 21 August 1941), was a Uyghur independence movement leader who led several rebellions in Xinjiang against the Kumul Khanate, the Chinese governo ...

joined the attack with his own Kumul Uyghur fighters after a 300-mile trek from Aksu - from which he was driven out by a force of Chinese Muslims — appearing at the walls of Kashgar on 13 January. The Chinese Muslim and Chinese forces repulsed the Turkic fighters, inflicting severe casualties upon them. Gen.

Ma Fuyuan Ma Fuyuan () was a Chinese Muslim general of the New 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army), who served under Generals Ma Zhongying and Ma Hushan. He was present with Ma Zhongying, Ma Shih-ming, Ma Shih-lu, and Ma Ho-ying during a meet ...

of the New 36th Division then stormed

Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. ...

and attacked the Uyghur and Kirghiz rebels of the

First East Turkestan Republic The Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan (TIRET; ug, شەرقىي تۈركىستان تۈرك ئىسلام جۇمھۇرىيىتى, , Шәрқий Түркистан Түрк-Ислам Җумхурийити; ) was a short-lived breakaway ...

. He freed

and the trapped Chinese troops. Ma Zhancang and Ma Fuyuan then defeated and drove out the remaining Turkic fighters. Estimates are that 2,000 to 8,000 Uighur civilians were killed in revenge for the

Kizil massacre The Kizil massacre () occurred in June 1933, when Uighur and Kirghiz Turkic fighters of the First East Turkestan Republic broke their agreement not to attack a column of retreating Hui Chinese soldiers and civilians from Yarkand New City on thei ...

. In April 1934, Gen. Ma Zhongying personally gave a speech at Idgah mosque, telling the Uighurs to be loyal to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

government at

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

. Several British citizens at the British consulate were murdered by troops of the New 36th Division in two separate incidents in March 1934. The Chinese Muslims were referred to as "Tungan tribesmen"; initial reports were that 2,000 Uighurs and several members of the British consulate were killed. The Uighurs were reinforced by troops from Yark and Hotan and Kirghiz tribesmen.

References

Kashgar 1934 History of Xinjiang 1934 in China Kashgar January 1934 events February 1934 events Xinjiang Wars Mass murder in 1934 Persecution of Uyghurs Massacres committed by China {{China-hist-stub