Counter-terror units deployed in Beijing

150 anti-terror teams have been deployed in Beijing following a number of attacks made by extremists from the Xinjiang region in northwest China. Explosives were detonated at a train station in Urumqi in April, while in March a similar strike left 33 people dead and 140 injured.

Authorities believe that the attacks were carried out by the Muslim Uyghur minority who claim they are persecuted by the government.

According to the Washington Post, “the government has long denied oppressing Uyghurs or any other ethnic group and has blamed separatist Muslims who want to make Xinjiang an independent state.”

The new counter-terror squads are a response to criticisms that the government has been slow in dealing with the issue.

Each unit will have nine armed officers and four assistants, with close to 2,000 personnel providing 24 hour protection. It is claimed that they will be able to reach incidents anywhere in the city within three minutes.

However, an article in the South China Morning Post has raised concerns over the level of support the units will be able to provide. The paper says: “The units will cover less than 500km of streets in total, only a fraction of Beijing’s over 21,000km long road network. The units will therefore be placed at ‘critical areas’, although the authorities would not give details on where they were or what qualified as a critical area.”