BEIJING (Sputnik) — Chinese security authorities are planning to boost the fight against rising risks of terrorist attacks in the country, particularly in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local media reported Saturday.
"We must firmly curb terrorist activities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, prevent these activities from spreading inland, and prevent violent terrorist attacks in large and medium-sized cities," the Xinhua news agency reported, citing a document released at a conference on political and legal work, which opened on Friday in Beijing.
Over the past years, several major terrorist attacks, linked to the increasing extremist activity in the predominantly Muslim Xinjiang autonomous region occurred in China.
The East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which currently operates in Xinjiang, is often responsible for incidents in the region. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Beijing and is blamed for organizing illegal actions and terrorist attacks in Xinjiang and other regions of the country.