A government news website published reports and photos of Monday’s exercise in the city of Urumqi, where the region’s recently installed Communist Partysecretary exhorted soldiers to “bury the corpses of terrorists” in a new people’s war.
The rally held on Monday, complete with circling helicopters and armoured vehicles, was at least the fourth such mass display in the region this year, intended as a show of force after a recent uptick in violence.
People’s Armed Police (PAP) and military helicopters, as well as 10 civilian aircraft, carried the forces as part of an “all new” air-land mechanism that would bring high-speed armed helicopter patrols anywhere over Xinjiang’s vast and rugged territory, a notice posted to the Ministry of Defence’s website said. It did not give further details on the patrols.
Xinjiang, home to the predominantly Muslim Uighur ethnic minority, has seen hundreds killed in recent years in attacks.
Beijing has blamed the violence on Islamic militants and separatists.
Uighur ISIS fighters vow blood will “flow in rivers” in China
Vowing to plant their flag in China+ and that blood will “flow in rivers”, a video released this week purportedly by the Islamic State group shows ethnic Uighur fighters training in Iraq, underscoring what Beijing sees as a serious threat.
The video was released the same day that China held the latest in a series of mass rallies of military police in Xinjiang meant to indicate Chinese resolve in crushing security threats.
The Islamic State video showed fighters, including heavily armed children, giving speeches, praying, and killing other “informants”.
In another scene, a man chanting in Uighur says: “Our land of sharia has been constructed with spilt blood.”
The video then shows pictures of people who were said to have become “martyrs” and identified as “al-Turkista&hibar;ni&hibar;”, or men from Turkestan, the name many Uighurs use for Xinjiang.
Doubts over strength of Uighur militants
Overseas experts have up to now expressed doubts about the strength of Uighur militants, with some saying China exaggerates the threat to justify tough security measures.
A US think tank said in July that tough Chinese religious restrictions on Muslims may have driven more than 100 to join the Islamic State.
Local police in one part of Xinjiang announced earlier this month that every vehicle will be tracked using satellite technology as part of an anti-terror initiative.
Activists say repressive government policies have exacerbated tensions and radicalized local youth.
