MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Speaking at the annual session of the regional People’s Congress in the capital of Xinjiang Urumqi, he explained that many terrorists who had carried out attacks in the region in the past years were trained abroad and then came back to Xinjiang, having crossed the border illegally, the media added.
"We need to make sure not a single terrorist can get in or out of Xinjiang illegally, especially when our neighboring countries are facing rising terrorist threats," Aniwar Turson, top party official of southern Xinjiang's Kashgar prefecture, said as cited by the China Daily newspaper.
Region’s head of administration Shohrat Zakir in his report at the Congress said that Xinjiang has "already stepped up efforts in entry-exit management in 2016," the newspaper reported.
On Monday, local media reported that three terrorists were killed in a police raid in Hotan prefecture in southern Xinjiang. In December 2016, terrorists attacked a governmental building in Hotan's Moyu County, leaving five people dead.
Xinjiang region borders eight countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. The region is home to China’s mainly Muslim Uyghur minority and has seen anti-government insurgent violence, with at least 200 people having died in attacks allegedly carried out by Uyghur separatists over the past two years. The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States, Russia, China and other countries, also operates in the region.
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