2015 Aksu colliery attack

2015 Aksu colliery attack
Part of the Xinjiang conflict
Location of Baicheng County (red) in Aksu Prefecture (yellow) and Xinjiang
LocationBaicheng County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China
Coordinates41°10′N 80°15′E / 41.167°N 80.250°E / 41.167; 80.250
Date18 September 2015
TargetAksu coal mine workers
Attack type
Knife attack
Deaths16 (per Xinjiang Daily)[1][2]
50 (Per Radio Free Asia)[3]
Injured18 (per Xinjiang Daily)[1]
50 (Per Radio Free Asia)[3]
PerpetratorsXinjiang separatists
No. of participants
29

The 2015 Aksu colliery attack , also known as the Baicheng incident[4] took place on 18 September 2015, when a group of separatists, suspected to be Uyghurs,[5] attacked workers and security guards at a coal mine in Baicheng County in Aksu, Xinjiang, leaving at least 16 dead and 18 wounded according to government sources, with other estimates reaching as high as 50 dead and 50 wounded. When local police arrived at the scene, the attackers rammed the police's vehicles with stolen trucks before fleeing into the mountains. The majority of the victims of the attack were members of the Han ethnic group.[6]

  1. ^ a b "China: 28 'terrorists' killed in Xinjiang operation". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  2. ^ "The Fight Against Terrorism and Extremism and Human Rights Protection in Xinjiang". Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Death Toll in Xinjiang Coal Mine Attack Climbs to 50". Radio Free Asia. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  4. ^ "China's propaganda wing puts spotlight on terror crackdown in the wake of Paris attacks". SCMP.
  5. ^ "At least 50 reported to have died in attack on coalmine in Xinjiang in September". The Guardian. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. ^ Blanchard, Ben (1 October 2015). "At least 50 said killed in September Xinjiang attack as China warns on security". Reuters. Retrieved 6 September 2020.