2014 Kunming attack

2014 Kunming attack
Part of the Xinjiang conflict
A view of Kunming Railway Station
LocationKunming, Yunnan
Coordinates25°1′3″N 102°43′15″E / 25.01750°N 102.72083°E / 25.01750; 102.72083
Date1 March 2014
21:20 (China Standard Time)
TargetPassengers of Kunming railway station
Attack type
Knife attack
Deaths35 (including four perpetrators)
Injured143
PerpetratorsXinjiang separatists[1]
No. of participants
8[2]
MotiveIslamic extremism[3]
Convicted4

On 1 March 2014, a group of 8 knife-wielding terrorists attacked passengers in the Kunming Railway Station in Kunming, Yunnan, China, killing 31 people, and wounding 143 others.[3] The attackers pulled out long-bladed knives and stabbed and slashed passengers at random.[4][5] Four assailants were shot to death by police on the spot[6] and one injured perpetrator was captured. Police announced on 3 March that the six-man, two-woman group had been neutralized after the arrest of three remaining suspects. As of 2024, it is the worst mass stabbing in Chinese history.[2][7]

No group claimed responsibility for the attack and no ties to any organization have been identified, in effect the group was a singular terror cell.[8] Xinhua News Agency and the government of Kunming said that the attack had been linked to Sunni extremists which were a faction of Xinjiang separatists.[9][3][10] Police said that they had confiscated a black, hand-painted East Turkestan flag at the scene, which is associated with the Uyghur separatists from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.[11][12]

  1. ^ "Deadly Terrorist Attack in Southwestern China Blamed on Separatist Muslim Uighurs". 2 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Kunming terrorist attack suspects captured". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "China separatists blamed for Kunming knife rampage". BBC News. 2 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Is the Kunming Knife Attack China's 9-11?". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Kunming train station 'terrorist' attack leaves dozens dead". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 March 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  6. ^ "27 dead in knife attack at China train station". USA Today. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  7. ^ Phillips, Tom (3 March 2014). "Chinese police 'solve' Kunming massacre". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Security Tightened in Kunming After Chinese Train Station Knife Attack". The Wire. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  9. ^ Xinhua News Agency: Xinjiang separatists involved in the Kunming attack Archived 17 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine 新華社：昆明案涉新疆分離勢力 (Chinese)
  10. ^ Blanchard, Ben (1 March 2014). "China blames Xinjiang militants for station attack". Chicago Tribune. Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  11. ^ 外交部：昆明暴恐事件现场确实发现了"东突"旗帜 [Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "East Turkestan" flag found at the scene of Kunming terrorist attack] (in Chinese). Phoenix Television. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  12. ^ 警方搜出"疆独"分子旗帜和凶器 [Police uncovered flag and weapons used by "Xinjiang separatists"] (in Chinese). 2 March 2014. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)