Battle against Xinjiang militants tougher, crueler than ever

Beijing has already deployed large forces, including elite commando units, to quell the unrest among Xinjiang's 10 million native Uyghur Muslims who resent the growing settlement of Han Chinese from the mainland.  

The province has witnessed several riots in recent years posing a major challenge to Beijing which focused on Xinjiang's development while sternly dealing with Uyghur nationalist sentiments.

Muhammat, who is a rare Uyghur military official in Chinese forces, said Xinjiang has been upgrading supplies for border troops and has deployed Special Forces.  

China has already stepped up vigilance at Xinjiang's borders with various nations to prevent infiltration, he said.  

Nayim Yasen, a deputy from the Xinjiang delegation said, “China urgently needs a comprehensive national law to combat terrorist attacks as threats from terrorists, especially those based in Central Asia, have become extremely serious”.