Isis threatens China and vows to 'shed blood like rivers'
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Version 0 of 1. Isis have released a video of Chinese Uighur Muslims threatening to return home and "shed blood like rivers". The 30-minute video shows Uighur fighters in training, interspersed with images from inside the ethnic minority's homeland of Xinjiang, including Chinese police on the streets. Moments before executing an alleged informant, one fighter issues the group's first direct threat to China. According to a translation from the SITE intelligence group, he said: “Oh, you Chinese who do not understand what people say! "We are the soldiers of the Caliphate, and we will come to you to clarify to you with the tongues of our weapons, to shed blood like rivers and avenging the oppressed." Following the video's release, China's Foreign Ministry said it wanted to work with the international community to fight Uighur militants. China is worried Uighurs have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight for militant groups there, having travelled illegally via Southeast Asia and Turkey. Isis previously released a propaganda song in Mandarin in the hopes of recruiting Chinese Muslims to its cause. The group claimed responsibility for the killing of a Chinese hostage in 2015, underscoring China's concern about Uighurs it says are fighting in the Middle East. Hundreds of people have been killed in Xinjiang in the past few years, most in unrest between Uighurs and the ethnic majority Han Chinese. The government blames the unrest on Islamist militants. The government has said foreign militants have stirred up tensions in Xinjiang, where it said it faces a determined campaign by separatists who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan. But many rights groups and exiles doubt the existence of a coherent militant group in Xinjiang, and say Uighur anger at repressive Chinese policies is more to blame for the unrest. China denies any repression in Xinjiang. |