Who are the Uyghurs, the crushed Muslim minority in China

the vast Xinjiang region spreads in the wild West of China and represents one sixth of its continental surface. Its population of about 26 million people is ethnically diverse, with Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other minority groups.

Rich region with deserts, grasslands and mountain ranges, Xinjiang borders eight countries, including Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Located in the old Silk Roadthe region has important natural resources such as coal, oil and gasas well as valuable minerals and metals.

The region has drifted in and out of Chinese rule over the centuries, but fell back into Beijing’s orbit when the communist party launched a military settlement program after taking power in 1949.

The uyghurs They’re a majority Muslim ethnicity who speak a Turkic language and are culturally closer to Central Asian communities than to Beijing. Some 12 millions live in Xinjiang, which represents 45% of the population. Its cultural cradle is located in the arid south of the region. In 1953, Uyghurs made up 75% of Xinjiang’s population, according to a census cited in the UN report. On the other hand, the Han Chinese ethnic group has gone from 7% to 42%.

Historically, some uyghurs they have opposed Chinese control and promoted the creation of an independent country known as East Turkestan. They also denounce that Beijing has limited the cultural and religious expressions of the uyghurs.

The communist power accentuated the security measures in Xinjiang in recent years in what is billed as a campaign to combat separatism and the islamist extremism. In 2009, violent clashes killed 200 people in the regional capital Urumqi. A series of apparent bombings occurred in the years that followed, including a 2013 attack on the square Tiananmen from Beijing and a suicide attack on the urumqi railway station in 2014.

Authorities responded with a campaign to “hit hard” against suspected terrorism, setting up checkpoints in cities across Xinjiang, deploying house raids and banning some expressions of the Islamic faith. This campaign has intensified since 2017, when Beijing advocated stamping out extremism once and for all.

Beijing received accusations of imprison still million uyghurs Y other Muslim minorities in a network of detention centers in Xinjiang.

activists and uyghurs in exile denounce multiple abuses in these centers, from torture, to forced labor, through forced sterilization and political indoctrination. The UN report pointed to “credible” evidence of torture, forced medical treatment or sexual violence. But he did not label these actions “genocide”, as the United States or parliaments of Western countries have done.

China defines these accusations as “the lie of the century” and insists that its actions in Xinjiang have helped prevent extremism and boost development.

According to the communist power, the network of facilities are voluntary enrollment training centers.