BEIJING, Jan 30: Thousands of additional police officers are being dispatched to combat religious extremism and other security concerns in China’s heavily Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang, state media reported on Monday.

Officials plan to recruit 8,000 officers to ensure every village in Xinjiang has at least one on patrol, the Xinhua news agency said.

Their primary tasks will be “security patrols, management of the migrant population and cracking down on illegal religious activities”, it said. The officers will be joined in their tasks by security guards and local militia, who are typically unarmed, Xinhua said.

In 2009, nearly 200 people were killed in fighting between native Uighurs and Han Chinese in the regional capital, Urumqi, according to the government.

Dozens have been killed or wounded in recent months. China has blamed overseas activists for what it described as organised terrorist attacks.

Xinjiang regional spokeswoman Hou Hanmin confirmed that 8,000 officers were being recruited under a “one village, one officer” campaign. She said their main job would be to improve public services.

Leading Xinjiang security official Xiong Xuanguo pledged earlier this month to strictly guard against “violent terrorism” and create a “harmonious social environment” ahead of the ruling Communist Party’s national congress due this fall.—AP