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BEIJING - Police in China's far western region of Xinjiang haverescued 54 children from illegal preachers, state media said onWednesday, in what an exiled rights group said was a violent raidon a school teaching the Koran. China's official Xinhua news agency said 12 of the childrenreceived burns when "the suspects ignited a flammable device toresist capture" during the incident in the remote southern Xinjiangcity of Hotan. "Acting on tips from local residents, police ... raided an illegalreligious preaching venue in the city, where 54 children were beingheld," Xinhua cited an unidentified police spokesman as saying. "Three suspects were seized during the operation, and three policeofficers were wounded," the news agency said in a briefEnglish-language report. Xinjiang is home to the mainly Muslim Turkic-speaking Uighurpeople, many of whom chafe at Chinese government controls on theirculture and religion. A German-based Uighur exile group, the World Uyghur Congress, saidpolice had used teargas to attack an Islamic school teachingchildren the Koran. "There was a fight, and the authorities used tear gas on the youngstudents, causing injuries on both sides," spokesman Dilxat Raxitsaid in emailed comments. "The aim was to eradicate religious belief." He added that police had arrested 47 people, including 11 women, ina crackdown following the raid, accusing them of owning illegalpublications and disturbing social stability. Reuters was not able to independently verify the conflictingaccounts or reach the government for comment. Hotan, in the majority Uighur southern part of Xinjiang, has seennumerous violent incidents over the past few years. The government, wary of instability and the threat to the CommunistParty's grip on power, often blames what it calls violentseparatist groups and religious extremists in Xinjiang for attackson police or other government targets. It says they work with al Qaeda or Central Asian militants, thoughexperts doubt the extent of those contacts. Xinjiang is strategically vital to China and the government hasshown no sign of loosening its grip on the region, which accountsfor one-sixth of China's land mass and holds rich deposits of oiland gas and borders Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Central Asia. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Industrial Flood Lighting , China Led Torch Flashlight, and more. For more , please visit Industrial Lighting Fixture today!
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