Xi urges 'decisive actions' against terrorism after Xinjiang blast

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged "decisive actions" against violent terrorist attacks, after the blast at a railway station in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

"The battle to combat violence and terrorism will not allow even a moment of slackness, and decisive actions must be taken to resolutely suppress the terrorists' rampant momentum," Xi said.

Three people were confirmed dead, including two people behind the attack and a bystander, and 79 others were injured, including four seriously injured, in the terrorist attack at a railway station in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang on Wednesday evening.

People wait at an entrance to the south railway station of Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, after an explosion on April 30. People in the square in front of the station and nearby were evacuated immediately after the blast, and police cordoned off all entrances to the square of the station. [Photo by Gao Bo/China Daily] More photos

Xi demanded profound awareness of the Xinjiang separatist forces and noted that the anti-separatism battle in Xinjiang is long-term, complicated and acute.

Also, Xi has ordered all-out efforts of local authorities to rescue and treat the injured as well as prompt investigation to solve the case and punish the criminals.

The social stability should be properly ensured, Xi said, adding that measures should be taken to safeguard the security of people of all ethnic groups and the order of their normal life and work.

The investigation of the case is currently underway.

Related: Three dead, 79 injured in Xinjiang railway station terrorist attack

Three people were confirmed dead and 79 others were injured in a violent terrorist attack at a railway station in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Wednesday evening.

Four people are seriously injured but in stable condition, said the publicity department of the regional committee of the Communist Party of China.

An initial police investigation showed knife-wielding mobs slashed people at the exit of the South Railway Station of Urumqi and set off explosives, it added.

All injured were sent to hospitals for treatment. Police are investigating the case.

The serious terrorist attack occurred at around 7:10 p.m. , with an explosion in the area between the station exit and a bus stop on BRT route 1. Some luggage and damaged motorcycles were left at the scene.

ACCOUNTS OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES

A Nan-bread vendor told Xinhua that he heard two huge sounds of blast.

"The explosion was so powerful that I thought it was an earthquake," a man at a nearby hotel told Xinhua.

The injured sent to Xinjiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and Xinjiang People's Hospital, both about four kilometers from the station, according to the railway station police.

Zhang Bin was picking up friend at the exit, when all of a sudden, he heard a bang and tumbled on the ground, he told Xinhua in hospital.

He struggled to stand up and found many others fall down. With bleeding left arm and injured hip, he rushed out with the crowd and called his family before He was sent to the Xinjiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.

"I've never expected such a thing could happen to me. If this was deliberate, I can't understand why they hurt innocent civilians? " said Zhang.

Zhang shared the ward with another two injured, a 24-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman.

The young man, obviously still gripped by fear, told Xinhua that he could barely remember what had happened in the station.

In another ward, a policeman was inquiring another injured and taking notes, while five of his colleagues guarded outside.

ORDERS RESTORED

Police cordoned off all entrances to the station square after the blast. People were evacuated and trains were suspended.

The station resumed normal operations at around 9 p.m. as passengers re-entered the waiting halls with the guidance of armed police.

The BRT1 route to the railway station has also resumed normal operations, said Yang Hongjun, general manager of Urumqi City High-Speed Public Traffic Company.

The company has strengthened security checks at bus stops, Yang told Xinhua late Wednesday.

The station is one of the three railway stations in the city, and the largest in Xinjiang. Xinjiang intercity railway lines linking Urumqi with the cities of Kuytun, Shihezi and Karamay were expected to start operations on Thursday and an opening ceremony is planned.

HIGH ALERT ON TERRORISM

Terrorist attacks have increased in Xinjiang in recent years and have targeted places outside Xinjiang.

On March 1, knife-wielding assailants killed 29 civilians and injured another 143 at a railway station in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming in March. Evidence linked the attack to separatists from Xinjiang.

Xinjiang was also hit by violent terrorist attacks in the past year. In an incident last June, rioters killed 24 people at the region's Lukqun Township.

During an inspection tour to Xinjiang which ended on Wednesday, President Xi Jinping said that long-term stability in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is vital to the whole country's stability and national security.

"The long-term stability of Xinjiang is vital to the whole country's reform, development and stability; to the country's unity, ethnic harmony and national security as well as to the great revival of the Chinese nation," Xi said when meeting with local Party and government officials.