Riots in Western China Amid Ethnic Tension Leave 27 Dead; Minority Group Blames Government Repression (Video)

Riots in western China amid ethnic tension left 27 dead and three injured, according to the officials Xinhua News Agency. The ethnic minority Uighur Group says the riots in western China were caused by government repression. The riots in western China are one of the deadliest instances of violence to hit the region in recent years.

Riots in western China broke out again on Wednesday morning in a remote town in the Turkic-speaking Xinjiang region. Mobs armed with knives attacked police stations, a local government building and a construction site.

Riots in western China also broke out in Lukqun, a township in Turpan prefecture, where the unrest left 17 people dead, including nine policemen. The police responded with deadly force, shooting and killing 10 rioters. The news agency reported from reports from officials at the region's Communist Party committee.

Xinjiang s ruled by China's Han ethnic majority, but it is home to a large population of minority Muslim Uighurs. It has been a hotbed of violence for the past few years. In 2009 ethnic riots in Urumqi left almost 200 people dead.

Three of the rioters were seized by the police, according to published reports. Fleeing suspects were chased by the police. There has been no word on how many people were suspected. Three people who were wounded in the riots are being treated.

The reason for the violence remains unclear. Authorities are investigating. The fighting took place in Yecheng, a Silk Road oasis town that is about 150 miles from the border with Pakistan. Tianshannet, a website run by the local government reported that "Nine terrorists suddenly ran up to innocent people and began stabbing them, which resulted in 13 deaths and many injuries. Local policemen acted immediately, arrested two and shot seven violent terrorists on the spot."

The Uighur Group laid the blame for the riots at the feet of government repression. In recent months China has limited fasting for Muslim Uighurs during Ramadan in Xinjiang. The Chinese government also vowed to crack down on Uighur separatists on the third anniversary of earlier riots. Tensions between the police and local Uighurs started in December after the police issued a 100-day campaign to round up criminals. Over 80 Uighur men were reported to have been arrested.

Dilxadi Rexiti, a spokesman in Sweden for the World Uighur Congress, said “The police were given quotas and got awards for arresting people. They were arresting Uighurs for no reason and that was aggravating the tensions."

Tensions have plagued the Xinjiang region for years. Uighurs are a predominantly Muslim Turkic-speaking minority population of around 10 million. They have been clashing with China’s Han ethnic majority. The Uighur community says Chinese authorities are guilty of discrimination, repression and unfair treatment. The group says that has resulted in economic inequality for its people. Uighurs are afraid that they are being squeezed out and deprived of job opportunities.

China points to evidence that some Uighur groups are linked with Islamist militant outfits in Pakistan and Central Asia. They say the groups have launched attacks in an attempt to establish an independent state called East Turkistan.

The Xinjiang region is about 2000 miles west of Beijing. It is culturally and economically closer to central Asian countries than it is to China's east coast.

World Uighur Congress spokesman Dilshat Rexit told Agence France-Presse that “continued repression and provocation is the cause of conflict.” The Chinese central government labeled the World Uighur Congress as separatist.

Riots near Kashgar in Xinjiang killed 21 people In April. This was the worst incident of violence in the area since July 2009 when around 200 people were killed in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi.