Iran Condemns Terrorist Attacks in China’s Xinjiang

31 July 2014 | 03:37 Code : 1936512 Latest Headlines
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham condemned terrorist attacks on China's Muslim-populated Xinjiang region on Wednesday.

"We condemn terrorist attacks in Xinjiang which triggered deadly clashes between ethnic people and security forces in there," Afkham said after the deadly clashes claimed 100 lives in the province.

She noted that Iran repudiates any act of extremism and violence.

The violence took place in Shache County, or Yarkand in the Uighur language, near the edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the West of the vast region.

Xinjiang government’s web portal, Tianshan, on Wednesday described the violence as a “terror attack” that killed or wounded “several tens” of members of the Uighur and Han communities.

The Han are China’s largest ethnic group, whose members have migrated in large numbers to Xinjiang in recent decades.

Deadly clashes involving Uighurs and local police and security personnel are not unusual.

Last month, regional authorities said police shot dead 13 people after they drove into a police building and set off an explosion.