Riots in Xinjiang , China , 35 people were killed

Riots in Xinjiang , China

Riots in Xinjiang , China , 35 people were killed

More than 100 people on a motorcycle and brandishing a knife attacked a police station in Xinjiang region , in western China , state media reported on Saturday .

Attacks in the city of Hotan , a remote desert region inhabited by ethnic Uighurs , came two days after deadly violence in the region in four years that claimed 35 lives . China called the incident " a terrorist attack " .

Reuters reported that Xinjiang is home to largely Muslim ethnic Uighurs who speak Turkish . China says it gives freedom and blamed Uighur extremists intend to break away .

Hostility between the ethnic majority Han Chinese and Uighur be a big challenge for the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party . President Xi Jinping who rose to power in March has called for unity all ethnic groups in China .

In the latest incident , " the rioters " gathered at religious places before riding a motorcycle to attack a police station in Hotan , Moyu county , said the Global Times daily newspaper owned by the People's Daily , the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party .

Authorities are counting the number of victims and search for suspects , said the Global Times .

In a separate incident , as many as 200 people trying to " trigger a scene " in the main shopping district in Hotan , the daily said . The newspaper reported police managed to control the situation .

Chinese authorities have increased security in Urumqi , the capital of the region , the daily said .

A court in Xinjiang , western China , on Thursday sentenced three people to death in Uighur as an act of " terrorism hard " , including murder and being part of a terrorist organization , state media said .

One other defendant was sentenced to 25 years in prison for taking part in the violence in June , according to Xinhua News Agency , Reuters reported .

Based on their names , it is the fourth convicted Uighur descent .

China called the incident in June that killed 35 people was a " terrorist attack " by a group that engaged in " extreme religious activities " .

The incident was the deadliest violence in the region since July 2009 riots that killed nearly 200 people .

In the violence of June, according to state media , a number of people attacked police stations and government buildings and set fire to several police cars .

Xinhua said the defendants engaged in illegal religious activities and spreading religious extremism , which made ​​them decide to form a terror cell and planning attacks .

In July 2009, the capital of Xinjiang , Urumqi , the site of clashes between the Uighur minority and the Han majority that killed nearly 200 people . In late June , 35 people were killed in another explosion of violence .

Uighur violence experienced in 2009 has caused a wave of protest marches in various world cities such as Ankara , Berlin , Canberra and Istanbul .

Turkic-speaking Uighurs and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the harshest criticism and calls asking what happened in Xinjiang as " a kind of massacre " .

Uighurs in exile claimed that Chinese security forces overreacting on peaceful protests and use of deadly force .

Eight million Uighurs , who have more contact with their neighbors in Central Asia than with the Han Chinese , comprise less than half of the population of Xinjiang .

Together Tibet , Xinjiang is one of the most vulnerable area of ​​politics and in the second region , the Chinese government tried to control the religious and cultural life while promising economic growth and prosperity .

Beijing does not want to lose control of the area , which borders Russia , Mongolia , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Afghanistan , Pakistan and India , and has large oil reserves and is the largest natural gas producing area of ​​China .

However , the minority population has long complained that the Han Chinese majority rake in profits from government subsidies , while making locals feel like outsiders in their own country .

Beijing says the unrest, the worst in the region in recent years , the work of separatist groups abroad, who wanted to create an independent region for the Muslim Uighur minority .

The groups argue organize the violence and said the unrest was the result of the anger that had accumulated against government policies and Han Chinese economic dominance .