Yarkand Massacre: UHRP demands China reveal fate of victims, missing

The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) urged the Chinese government to disclose the whereabouts of those killed or missing in the 2014 Yarkand Massacre. The rights group demanded an independent international investigation into the incident.

The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) has called on the Chinese government to disclose the fate of those killed, detained, or who went missing during the 2014 Yarkand (Shache) Massacre and allow an independent international investigation into the incident.

UHRP Demands Truth and Justice

In a post on X, UHRP said that July 28 is remembered by Uyghurs not as a statistic but through the stories of victims and families still searching for answers. "The Truth Has Yet to Be Revealed," the organisation stated, adding that Uyghurs continue to remember "women who were taken away, men who never returned after being summoned for questioning, elderly people searching for their grandchildren, families who have lost loved ones yet have no graves to visit, and entire villages forced into silence."

The rights group urged Chinese authorities to reveal the names and whereabouts of all those killed, missing, detained, or sentenced in connection with the Yarkand incident. It also called for authorities to disclose the causes of deaths, open official archives, and permit an independent international investigation.

UHRP further urged the international community not to accept Beijing's "terrorism" narrative without scrutiny, questioning why authorities sealed off the area, cut communications, and continue to deny an independent probe. "The bloodstains of Yarkand did not vanish after the roads were reopened. They were merely buried. And the Uyghurs will continue to remember," the organisation said.

Conflicting Accounts of the Massacre

The 2014 Yarkand incident remains one of the most disputed episodes in Xinjiang's recent history. The violence erupted on July 28, 2014, in Yarkand County, following heightened tensions between Uyghur residents and Chinese authorities over religious restrictions, security measures, and reported crackdowns in the region.

Chinese authorities said armed assailants carried out coordinated attacks on civilians and police officers, describing the incident as a terrorist attack linked to separatist and extremist groups. State media reported that security forces responded by killing dozens of alleged attackers and restoring order.

However, Uyghur organisations, human rights groups, and exile activists have challenged Beijing's account, alleging that the security response resulted in the deaths of a far larger number of Uyghur civilians than officially acknowledged.

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