On Tuesday, the terror group Al-Qaeda, for the first time, declared it will target Chinese interests in North Africa to avenge the violence against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
On July 5, at least 184 people were killed in ethnic clashes between Uighurs and China’s majority Han Chinese ethnic group in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital.
The Chinese government has in the past blamed organizations like the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group with alleged links to Al-Qaeda, for fomenting tensions in Xinjiang, and has also suggested that ETIM activities had a role in last week’s violence.
But some Uighur rights groups have said China has exaggerated the influence of the little-known ETIM, and has used its crackdown on terror to tighten restrictions and suppress the rights of ordinary Uighurs.
On Tuesday, the Chinese government “strongly urged” countries in South and Central Asia to step up efforts to clamp down on terror groups operating in the region. China said “some countries had supported and indulged” activities by extremist groups, without directly naming the countries.
China has in the past indicated that groups like the ETIM had received training in militant camps in Pakistan, and has begum to strongly pressure Pakistan to crack down on groups with ties to Xinjiang.
Last week, Chinese officials “briefed” their Pakistani counterparts about the unrest in Xinjiang, reportedly expressing concern that Uighur groups based in Pakistan had a role in the unrest. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Tuesday said Pakistan and China had “stayed in close communication” following the unrest on July 5. “Regional countries like China and Pakistan should enhance cooperation in combating the Three Forces [separatism, terrorism and extremism] and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility,” he said.
In contrast with India, China’s experiences with terror have been few and far between, but are becoming increasingly frequent.
Last August, two terror attacks struck the border city of Kashgar in Xinjiang, while the ETIM was reportedly behind a bus bombing in the southern city of Kunming a month earlier. Chinese officials reportedly foiled a suicide bombing attempt by the ETIM on a flight out of Urumqi last March.
A report by the Stirling Assynt security consultancy released on Tuesday said a North African off-shoot of Al-Qaeda, the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was one of a number of terror groups reportedly targeting China following unrest in Xinjiang, according to a report in the Hong Kong- based South China Morning Post. “There is an increasing amount of chatter…….. among jihadists who claim they want to see action against China,” said the report.
