MOSCOW, February 2 (RIA Novosti) – Chinese authorities said Sunday that the East Turkestan Islamic Movement was behind a deadly attack on a train station in southwest Yunnan Province last night, local media reported.
At least 29 innocent people died, and more than 130 were injured in the attack on the Kunming Railway Station carried out by a group of more than 10 knife-wielding people, Xinhua news agency said.
Police reportedly killed five attackers and is searching for the rest of the group.
“Evidence at the crime scene showed that the Kunming Railway Station terrorist attack was orchestrated by Xinjiang separatist forces,” Xinhua cited local municipal officials.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered law enforcement bodies to crack down on terrorist activities and severely punish the suspects in the attack.
The East Turkestan Islamic Movement, often blamed by the Chinese authorities for leading an insurgency in the northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, has not claimed responsibility for the attack. The movement is designated a terrorist group by the United Nations.
Xinjiang's eight million Uighurs have complained of political, cultural and religious persecution by Beijing and there have been repeated calls by Uighurs for independence.
