At least four people were killed, including a paramilitary police officer and two hostages, following an attack on a police station in Hotan, Xinjiang, yesterday, the South China Morning Post reported. State media reported that armed police rushed to the scene, saving six hostages and shooting dead several “thugs,” although it gave no details about either the ethnicity of the attackers or the identity of the hostages. The police managed to restore order by 1.30pm, following a clash that lasted several hours. Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the German-based World Uygur Congress, quoted several sources from Xinjiang as saying that ethnic Uygurs had gone to the police station to secure the release of fellow Uygurs. He said the prisoners had planned to stage a protest in Hotan yesterday morning over the seizure of land for a resettlement project, but security personnel clamped down on the demonstration, arresting 13.
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