Ethnic Uighur Muslims in western China have attacked a police station with rocks and petrol bombs to protest a pre-Olympic crackdown, an exiled group said yesterday
The petrol bomb attack occurred last week in Sangong township in China's western-most Xinjiang region, Dilxat Raxit, spokesman of the German-based World Uighur Congress, said.
Local police confirmed the attack when asked by AFP, but refused to comment further on the case.
Raxit said it was prompted by a police crackdown aimed at heading off unrest among the Uighurs, the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang region, ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.
"The Chinese authorities are using the opportunity of the Olympic Games to oppress the Uighur population," Raxit said.
"They are arresting people without any legal procedure... anyone they suspect of being opposed to the Chinese government is being rounded up."
Xinjiang is home to over 8.3 million Uighurs, a Muslim central Asian people who have long chafed under Beijing's control.
Many accuse China of harsh oppression and policies that they say are aimed at extinguishing their culture.
Raxit said the attack occurred after peaceful attempts to end the ongoing police crackdown proved ineffective.
Following last week's attack, the police crackdown has intensified, with "several dozens" of young Uighurs suspected of taking part being taken into police custody, he added.