URUMQI (China), Aug 8: Police shut down the bustling International Bazaar in the capital of China’s restive Muslim region of Xingjian on Friday amid threats from a Muslim group that attackers might target buses, trains and planes during the Olympics.
A sign at the entrance of the bazaar did not explain why the area, surrounded by mosques, was off limits as the country kicked off the Games thousands of kilometres away in Beijing.
But one of the many security guards in the bazaar’s plaza said: ‘’The area is closed because of a possible terrorist attack. It’s just a defensive measure.’’
Even a KFC restaurant in the shopping area — filled with touristy shops selling carpets and jade — was closed. A few Chinese tourists lingered in the area, snapping photos.
The sprawling, far-flung western region of Xingjian has long been a source of trouble for China’s communist government. The rugged, mineral-rich territory is populated by the Rigours, a Turkic Muslim minority that has had tense relations with the Chinese. Many Rigours favour independence or greater autonomy for Xingjian, which takes up one-sixth of China’s land mass and borders eight C. Asian countries.
On Thursday, a videotape purportedly made by the Turkistan Islamic Party — a militant group seeking Xingjian independence — was released with threats to launch attacks during the Olympics.
’’Choose your side,’’ says the videotape’s speaker, grasping a rifle and dressed in a black turban and camouflage with his face masked. “Do not stay on the same bus, on the same train, on the same plane, in the same buildings or any place the Chinese are,’’ he warns Muslims, according to a translation by the SITE Inteligence Group, a US operation that monitors militant organisations.
Last month, the militant group issued videotaped threats and claimed responsibility for a series of bus bombings in China in recent months. The latest video features graphics similar to ones used earlier: a burning Olympics logo and an explosion imposed over an apparent Olympic venue.
The new video claims the communist government’s alleged mistreatment of Muslims justifies holy war.—AP