Residential fire causes the murder of at least 10 Uyghurs in East Turkistan

A fire that erupted in a residential building in Urmuqi, the capital of Xinjiang (East Turkistan), caused the death of at least 10 Uyghurs and injured 9 others, according to News Agencies.

The fire broke out on Thursday evening on the 15th floor of of a high-rise building then spread to higher floors, according to Chinese media. However, due to strict anti-COVID measures enforced by Chinese authorities, which incudes strict lockdown and locking people in their homes with locked chains have obstructed the residents from escaping the fire and the intentional delay in responding to the fire by the Chinese Fire Brigade has caused the number of victims to rise, according to Uyghur activists.

According to activists, the real number of casualties is much higher than the official one released by Chinese authorities, as the death toll reached over 30 and tens more injured, authorities will not recognise these numbers, however, to avoid the accusation of causing the death of the victims by enforcing unreasonable anti-COVID measures and delaying the fire brigade response.

The Chinese authorities enforce strict measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 in China. Uyghur activists are accusing the authorities of using the pandemic to imprison and deny Uyghur people their rights by locking their homes and denying them access to food and water in what they call “Starvation Genocide”.

These allegations are supported by videos shared on social media showing mothers crying for help because they are  unable to feed their children.

Chinese authorities deny all those allegations strictly and insist that they are promoted by foreign political agendas.

Reactions:

After the fire, many protests have gone on the streets of Urmuqi condemning the strict measures that caused the death of the residents and calling for the authorities to lift the lockdown.

Uyghurs in Turkey have also organised a protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, calling for justice for the victims.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement in which they extend their condolences for the victims and call for “the reasons of the fire to be made public”.