A new ethnic clash in the restive region of Xinjiang, on China’s central Asian frontier, saw 22 people killed after Uighur assailants attacked Han Chinese merchants at a wholesale food market near the border with Kyrgyzstan.
The latest incident, reported by Radio Free Asia, brings to at least 244 the number of people who have died in reported attacks in the region since a crackdown on terrorism began in May. Officials were not available for comment at the public security bureau in Maralbeshi county, known in Chinese as Bachu county.
Chinese authorities kicked off the crackdown after 43 people died when Uighur attackers in SUVs drove through a predominately Han Chinese street market in Urumqi, the regional capital. The move has exacerbated tensions in the region, with both locals and police reportedly killed during security raids on homes, in fights at security checkpoints and police stations and in arguments over the forcible removal of women’s veils.