Details revealed on violent clash in Xinjiang

Terrorists used 1.2-meter-long knives in attack

Hou Hanmin, spokeswoman for the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, revealed on Friday some details about a violent clash that left 21 people dead in the region's Serikbuya town in Bachu county.

Hou said that the clash on April 23 started after three community workers spotted a group of people watching videos linked to terror activities in a house during a routine visit.

They then tried to calm the suspected terrorists, while also alerting the local police.

When police officers and other community workers arrived at the house, the three community workers had already been killed. 

The backup team was then ambushed by a violent group armed with 1.2-meter-long knives.

The head of the police station — the only person armed with a pistol — then fired all the six bullets in his gun, but failed to control the situation.

The members of the backup team were forced into a room, and the terrorists sealed the room and poured petrol. They then set the house on fire, leaving the people inside to burn to death.

Six terrorists were killed and eight arrested.

Nine community workers and six policemen were killed in total, including 10 Uygur, three Han and two Mongolian.

At a conference on Thursday about maintaining stability in the region, Zhang Chunxian, the Party chief of Xinjiang, asked people attending the conference to stand in a silent tribute for the dead policemen and community workers.

President Xi Jinping called for stability in the region in a written statement that was read at the conference.

Participants at the conference said that terrorists are enemies of the people of all ethnic groups across the country and should be fought with no mercy.

It's also important to learn the lessons from the latest clash and to boost the powers of community-level officials to maintain stability, they added.