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CHINA> News
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Imam describes Urumqi shootings
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-15 07:57 URUMQI: An imam at a mosque in Urumqi said Tuesday that the three Uygur men who were shot on Monday - two fatally - had attempted to take over a prayer meeting and attacked a security guard before they were shot. The imam said that about 150 Muslims were attending Monday prayers from 2:30 pm to 3 pm in a mosque on Jiefang South Road when one of the men, who was later shot, stood up and tried to grab the loud-speaker from the imam. The man was stopped. Minutes later, the man stood up again, holding a green banner and shouting "jihad" before calling on others in the mosque to follow him, the imam said. The imam said he decided to end the religious ritual before telling the man: "We will definitely not follow you. Get out!" He said no one at the mosque showed any interest in going with the man. When the imam called for the man to be driven out of the mosque, two men, who later proved to be the man's accomplices, took out knives with blades about 50 cm long and tried to force people to leave with them.
One of the Uygur guards, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he led people away from the confrontation but was pursued by the three men until they were stopped by patrolling police. The guard said police were forced to shoot the men after their warning shots were not heeded and the men continued to attack him. Two of the men died at the scene. The other attacker is being treated at People's Hospital in Urumqi. The deadliest riot in Xinjiang in six decades took place on July 5, killing at least 184 people. Xinhua |
