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Kyrgyzstan suspects gunmen were separatists

By Zhang Fan | China Daily | Updated: 2014-01-25 08:09

Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry suspects the 11 gunmen killed in Thursday's skirmish with state border guards are Chinese Uygur separatists, according to the Chinese embassy in Bishkek on Friday.

Bishkek is asking the Chinese embassy to help identify the gunmen.

Xu Zhongxin, first secretary of the Chinese embassy in Bishkek, said the embassy has launched its own investigation and that it will "provide necessary assistance to the Kyrgyz government within our capabilities".

The Kyrgyzstan State Border Service said on Thursday that a group of unidentified gunmen opened fire on border guards after killing a hunter. The gunmen refused to surrender and were all shot dead.

The clash took place in the Pikertyk area, about 40 km from China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. It is unclear why the gunmen were in the area.

The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry said the Kyrgyz embassy in Beijing and its visa point in Urumqi, capital city of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, have also been asked to confirm the gunmen's identities.

"Kyrgyzstan and China have actively cooperated in the sphere of fighting against the three evil forces. We express confidence in the close cooperation of the correspondent bodies of the two countries in the investigation of the incident," said the ministry's news release.

Earlier reports said Kyrgyz Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev called for the establishment of a special command force to confront the militants near the Sino-Kyrgyz border.

Experts said many Chinese Uygur separatists gather in Kyrgyzstan to build their forces and have threatened socioeconomic development in the country.

"Transportation between China and Kyrgyzstan is convenient, so these separatists always run into Kyrgyzstan when faced with our anti-terrorism sweeps," said Zhang Zhiming, China's former ambassador to Kyrgyzstan.

People living near the Sino-Kyrgyz border share the same language and religion with the separatist groups, making it very easy for the separatists to blend in, he added.

"So it is hard for the Kyrgyz government to prevent these separatists from absorbing new members and developing their forces," he said.

Several "East Turkistan" organizations, including the World Uygur Congress, have established "representative offices" in Kyrgyzstan to expand their influence in the region.

"These separatists tend to use terrorist attacks to attract the world's attention, which directly threaten the social order of Central Asian countries," said Chen Yurong, a senior researcher at the China Institute of International Studies.

Most countries in the region have been developing their tourism industries to improve their economies, but the activities of the separatists have disrupted social order and lead to a decline in tourists, she said.

"The regional instability will also influence the development of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region," she added.

zhangfan1@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/25/2014 page6)

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