Dec. 16 (UPI) -- At least 16 people were killed in China’s far-western region of Xinjiang on Sunday in the latest exchange of violence between police and the local Uyghur community who claim they are discriminated against on ethnic and religious grounds.
Two of the dead were police officers and the other 14 were Uyghurs.
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“China is ruled by law. To protect people’s life and security and to crackdown on crime is the sacred duty of the Chinese state,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at the daily press briefing.
Xinjiang has long been home to a rebellion against Chinese rule by parts of the Muslim Uyghur population there.
