DATE=9/9/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-EXPLOSION (L)
NUMBER=2-266300
BYLINE=LETA HONG FINCHER
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
//UPDATES CASUALTY FIGURES IN INTRO. NO CHANGE TO TEXT//
INTRO: Chinese state media say 60 people have been
killed and 300 others injured in an explosion in
the northwestern Xinjiang province. Beijing
Correspondent Leta Hong Fincher reports that the
cause of the blast is still unknown.
TEXT: China's official Xinhua News Agency reports that
a truck carrying explosives blew up in Urumqi, the
capital of the predominantly Muslim province of
Xinjiang, Friday night.
Xinhua says the truck was carrying the explosives for
disposal when the cargo blew up on a major roadway in
the city's western suburbs. The agency reports that
more than 20 vehicles and homes were also damaged.
Accidents occur frequently in China, and explosives
are widely used for construction and mining. However,
in recent years, Xinjiang province has been racked
with sometimes violent unrest by Uighurs, Turkic
Muslims who are the region's largest ethnic group.
Xinjiang is on China's border with several other
countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and three
former Soviet republics. Uighur discontent with
Chinese rule dates back decades. But since the mid-
1990s, some militant Uighurs in the region have
resorted to bombings and assassinations against
Chinese in their fight for an independent Muslim
state.
The government launched a crackdown against separatist
violence in 1996, but the unrest continues. In July,
China executed three Uighur separatists it accused of
making bombs.(Signed)
NEB/LHF/PFH
09-Sep-2000 05:07 AM EDT (09-Sep-2000 0907 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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