On 24 April 2013, ethnic clashes occurred in
Marelbeshi (Bachu),
Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
, China. The violence left at least 21 people dead, including 15 police and officials.
April 2013 violence
On 24 April 2013, deadly clashes broke out between policemen and ethnic
Uyghur
Uyghur may refer to:
* Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia (West China)
** Uyghur language, a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Uyghurs
*** Old Uyghur language, a different Turkic language spoken in the Uyghur K ...
suspected terrorists, which according to state officials began when three local government officials reported a suspicious group of individuals armed with knives, outside a home in the
Seriqbuya township located outside the city of
Kashgar
Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...
.
While the group was in process of reporting this to their superiors, they were apprehended by the armed men hiding inside the home, killing the three unarmed officials. Afterwards policemen and community cadres at the local police station were informed by the workers' earlier reports and went to handle the matter.
According to Chinese state media, when the policemen, some being unarmed, arrived to investigate the situation, armed men attacked them, killing three police officers and three of the attackers. Then nine policemen were cornered in the assailants house, which was set on fire, referred to as a "planned terrorist attack" against innocent victims. According to a report filed about incident, eleven of the deceased officials and policemen were ethnic Uyghurs, while the remaining four were
Han Chinese. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesmen
Hua Chunying
Hua Chunying ( zh, s=华春莹; born 24 April 1970) is a Chinese diplomat who has been serving as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China since 2024. She most notably served as spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After graduating ...
, said initial police investigations showed it had been a "premeditated attack carried out by a violent terrorists organization".
As a result of the violence 21 people died, including policemen and social workers.
Trial
Nineteen members of an unnamed extremist group were arrested. Its suspected leader, Musa Hesen, was sentenced to death, along with another suspect after a one-day trial in Kashgar on 12 August for murder, forming and leading a terrorist organisation and illegally manufacturing explosives. Three others were sentenced to prison sentences ranging from nine years to life.
Aftermath
After two months, on 26 June, 27 people were killed in riots, 17 of them were killed in the violence, while the other 10 people were shot dead by police in the township of Lukqun.
See also
*
Xinjiang Conflict
The Xinjiang conflict ( zh, c=新疆冲突, p=xīnjiāng chōngtú), also known as the East Turkistan conflict, Uyghur–Chinese conflict or Sino-East Turkistan conflict (as argued by the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile), is an ethnic g ...
*
2013 Tiananmen Square attack
On 28 October 2013, a car ran over pedestrians and crashed in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China, in a terrorist suicide attack. Five people died in the incident; three inside the vehicle and two others nearby. Police identified the driver as Usm ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2013 04 Bachu unrest
2013 in China
Conflicts in 2013
Riots and civil disorder in China
Ethnic riots
21st century in Xinjiang
Bachu 2013 04
Terrorist incidents in China
Islamic terrorism in China
April 2013 in China
Terrorist incidents in China in 2013