KASHGAR (China), Aug 1: China on Monday blamed Muslim separatist terrorists trained in Pakistan for an outbreak of deadly violence and imposed heavy security in a bid to prevent further unrest.

Nineteen people were killed in two incidents in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar over the weekend in the latest wave of violence to hit the Xinjiang region, home to a mainly Muslim Uighur minority.

The Kashgar local government said in a statement on its website the assailants behind an attack on a restaurant that left six people dead on Sunday had learned explosive-making skills in terrorist-run camps in Pakistan.

“The heads of the group had learned skills of making explosives and firearms in overseas camps of the terrorist group East Turkestan Islamic Movement (Etim) in Pakistan before entering Xinjiang,” the statement said.

The attackers adhered to “extremist religious ideology” and advocated “jihad”, it said.

Chinese authorities have accused Etim, which wants an independent homeland for Xinjiang’s Uighurs, of orchestrating attacks in the region on many occasions.

The United States and the United Nations have listed the group as a terrorist organisation, and China has previously said it has operations in Pakistan as well as Afghanistan.

Sunday’s attack came less than 24 hours after eight people were killed and more than 20 others hurt at a night market in Kashgar by two knife-wielding assailants, according to authorities.

Police also reportedly shot dead five attackers.

The Kashgar government statement did not mention the night market attack, but some state media reports on Monday blamed both incidents on ‘terrorists’.

By Monday, the streets of Kashgar had reopened after a lockdown on Sunday, but they remained quiet, with a heavy police presence and few Han Chinese in evidence.

Dozens of police carrying machine guns blocked the street where Sunday’s attack took place.—AFP