Beijing, Aug 7: China is ordering a sweeping security clampdown in the western region of Xinjiang following recent deadly attacks blamed on Muslim ethnic Uighur militants, with Beijing vowing “no mercy” toward anyone pursuing violence or separatism.
Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu has ordered officials to mobilize all available resources and manpower to create a “high-pressure environment” in which to contain terrorism, official newspapers reported Friday.
“Those criminals who dare test the law with their persons and carry out violent terrorist acts, we will punish harshly, showing no mercy and never being soft,” Meng was quoted as telling participants at an anti-terrorism conference Thursday in the regional capital of Urumqi.
Meng urged authorities to work to prevent violence in villages and cities though education and intelligence gathering. He vowed prosecutions for anyone threatening lives or property, pushing for separatism or undermining relations between minority Uighurs and majority Han Chinese settlers in the region.
The conference follows a trio of recent attacks blamed on militants among Xinjiang’s native Turkic Muslim Uighur population opposed to heavy-handed Chinese rule. At least three dozen people, including the alleged attackers, were killed in the attacks in the cities of Hotan and Kashgar, which came just ahead of the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. AP

Lastupdate on : Sun, 7 Aug 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 7 Aug 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 8 Aug 2011 00:00:00 IST