The 'January 2007 Xinjiang raid' was carried out on
January 5,
2007 by the Chinese police against a suspected
East Turkestan Islamic Movement training camp in
Akto County in the Pamirs plateau near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
[UN urged to probe killing of Chinese MuslimsThe News]
A spokesperson for the Xinjiang
Public Security Department said that 18 terror suspects were killed and 17 captured. The raid also resulted in the death of one Chinese police officer and the injury of another. Authorities confiscated hand grenades, guns, and makeshift explosives from the site.
[China 'anti-terror' raid kills 18BBC]
In reaction, many exiled Uyghur leaders quickly have questioned the motives behind the raid. Rebiya Kadeer, Uyghur human-rights activist, has called for an independent UN investigation into the raid, while Alim Seytoff, executive chairman of the World Uighur Congress, claims 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. [China crushes Xinjiang `terror camp' Taipei Times]
References