2007 Xinjiang raid

Xinjiang raid
Part of the Xinjiang conflict

Location of Akto County in Xinjiang, China
DateJanuary 5, 2007
Location
Xinjiang, People's Republic of China
Result Chinese victory
Belligerents

People's Republic of China

East Turkestan Islamic Movement
Commanders and leaders
Ba Yan Unknown
Casualties and losses
1 killed
1 wounded		 18 killed
17 captured

The January 2007 Xinjiang raid was carried out on January 5, 2007, by Chinese paramilitary police against a suspected East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) training camp in Akto County in the Pamir plateau.[1]

A spokesperson for the Xinjiang Public Security Department said that 18 terror suspects were killed and 17 captured. Those captured were either sentenced to death or life imprisonment.[1] The raid also resulted in the death of one Chinese paramilitary officer, Huang Qiang, age 21, and the injury of another officer. Authorities confiscated hand grenades, guns, and makeshift explosives from the site.[2][3] ETIM is classified by the United Nations as a terrorist organization.[4][5]

In reaction, many exiled Uyghur leaders quickly questioned the motives behind the raid. Rebiya Kadeer, a Uyghur human rights activist, called for an independent UN investigation into the raid,[5] while Alim Seytoff, executive chairman of the World Uighur Congress, claimed the Chinese government has yet to produce evidence to substantiate the camp's connections to terrorism. In response, Zhao Yongchen, vice head of the Xinjiang counterterrorism forces, reiterated the reality of the camp's terrorist threat.[2][6][7]

  1. ^ a b Wayne, Martin (2007). "Five Lessons from China's War on Terror". Joint Force Quarterly (47): 42. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "UN urged to probe killing of Chinese Muslims". The News. January 11, 2007. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008.
  3. ^ "China 'anti-terror' raid kills 18". BBC News. 8 January 2007.
  4. ^ Roul, Animesh (May 17, 2019). "Al-Qaeda and Islamic State Reinvigorating East Turkistan Jihad". Jamestown. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  5. ^ a b Guo, Rongxing (2015). China's Spatial (Dis)integration: Political Economy of the Interethnic Unrest in Xinjiang. Waltham, MA: Chandos Publishing. p. 46. ISBN 9780081003879.
  6. ^ "China crushes Xinjiang 'terror camp'". Taipei Times. January 10, 2007.
  7. ^ Poch, Rafael (June 20, 2007). "Un incidente en el Pamir". La Vanguardia (in Spanish).