UNKNOWN EYEWITNESS, 2 August 2014

NOTE: THE ORIGINAL LETTER WAS WRITTEN IN THE UYGHUR LANGUAGE AND IT IS BELIEVED TO BE FROM AN EYEWITNESS TO THE RECENT BRUTAL CRACKDOWN ON UYGHURS BY THE CHINESE SECURITY FORCES IN YARKAND COUNTY, EAST TURKESTAN.

Assalamun Alleykum dear Relatives (reference to exiled Uyghurs)!

Our homeland is under extreme violence right now. Please deliver our message to the world; we are indeed in very bad situation (left hopeless). On July 28th evening time a group of Uyghur women at Ilishkou County’s 15-16-17 districts have gathered to spent the night together and celebrate “end of Ramadan and arrival of Aid in our country on Tuesday”. The group was consisted of two parties; one was of 30 women and another of 15. Men were absent as they left for evening prayers. The information about upcoming communal praying of women was revealed to Chinese police by one collaborator, acting on this a fully armed special Chinese army unit invaded the household and shot everyone inside including small children who were present. Everyone who was there was killed on the spot.

Three Uyghur policemen were also killed on the spot due to suspicion that they have revealed above mentioned incident. My compatriot, what I am writing to you is all true. I am not a skilled writer so I wrote as I could, the whole truth, it is possible we are living the worst massacre in our history right now. Even as I write this there are
armed Chinese forces with pointed automatic guns, may Allah give us a refuge!

Compatriots, please deliver this message to the world. We hope you will translate this into different languages. We wish the international community know about what is happening here and dispatch some people here to see for themselves.

Compatriots pray for us and ask to ease our plight in your wishes. As per my source, this place was bombarded heavily, after that armed forces went in and killed off those who were still alive, some wounded were strangled and their head were cut off. Among them there were newly born toddlers, old ladies and breast-feeding mothers. In three counties only those who cooperate with Chinese are left alive. Chinese sent out a group of 17 people (military) to check out if there were any survivors, it was reported to county secretary that 13 people are still alive. A group of military then shot remaining survivors. The victims were one old lady, one pregnant woman and children. There are also reports of ongoing massacre in Nash Kuruk, Ishinko and in surroundings of Dugbag and Kush Eriq. The crimes are under way in below areas where entries and exits are all ceased (cut off by authorities) – Mekit, DugBag, Ilishko, Hengdi, Kush Yezik in Yarkent region. Also, within the interior river region of Yarkent – Hayat Iken, Gulbaz, Tupustaq, Udanlik, Chiraq, Tagarchi, Yakachi, Misha, Ishankol we know the detentions are going on right now.

People afraid even to great each other because when two or three people gather together they can be arrested. To this moment the exact number of those massacred, detained is not known.

Because nobody apart from military can travel even from one neighborhood to another. I know one family in which a 7 years old girl was killed and whose uncles cannot visit the victim’s house in the region. We have learnt that bodies of victims which are not recognizable are transferred in the construction trucks which are used
for granules (the construction material).

Friends, Ilishko county is the most populous in the Yarkent region. In general, in Yarkent region’s counties the least number of residents is between five to six hundred families. If we take above number we estimate the number of victims in Ilishko from three thousand to five thousand, it is possible that the actual numbers are much higher. At the moment the information is under strict control in the region. 3 Uyghur policemen were shot dead because of the suspicion of leaking it.