We were traveling in Xinjiang during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which is usually marked by fasting from sunrise to sunset by the devout. However, students and government bureaucrats were not allowed to follow their religious traditions, some of them being forced to eat during Ramadan. Not surprisingly, many Uighurs resented this treatment.

The day before Ramadan ended, this resentment broke into violence. The violence occurred in Yarkant, an ancient oasis along the southern branch of the Silk Road, just a few hours from where we were in Kashgar.

Though sources are difficult to find, reports indicate that Uighurs grew tired of these religious restrictions and rioting broke out. Government sources at first claimed that less than a dozen people had been killed, then that estimate was raised to less than sixty, then over one hundred. However, Uighur sources claim that somewhere around two thousand people were killed in the rioting. In this part of China, journalists are essentially not allowed, so it is hard to determine how many people were killed and who those people were.

The night of the riots, we talked with an American couple who had been on their way to Yarkant when the riots happened. Their bus was halted shortly before it arrived in Yarkant, and, along with all other traffic, they waited. They were given no official reason, but they heard from some Uighurs that there was rioting going on in the city, though they had no idea of the scale. After waiting for six hours, all traffic was forced to turn back, so they returned to Kashgar.

The story is personal, because we almost went to Yarkant. Had we not been able to change vehicles, we might have been in Yarkant to witness the bloodshed.

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/yarkand-08052014150547.html