BEIJING — The Vietnamese authorities have returned to the Chinese government 11 Chinese migrants and the bodies of five others after members of the group were
involved in a deadly clash with Vietnamese border guards last Friday, according to a
Vietnamese news report.
The fight last Friday involved a shootout in which two Vietnamese border guards were killed after one or more migrants in the group, which had been stopped by guards at a sentry building, seized one or more AK-47 assault rifles and opened fire, Vietnamese state news media reported over the weekend.
As Vietnamese security forces surrounded the multistory building, some of the Chinese migrants committed suicide by leaping off the roof, and others were shot dead, the reports said. A photograph of the four women and two children in the 16-person group showed women wearing scarves over their faces, a manner of dress common among the more conservative ethnic Uighur women in the Chinese region of Xinjiang.
Uighurs complain of harassment and discrimination in China, and many have fled to Southeast Asia. Last month, at least 400 people believed to be Uighurs were stopped in various parts of Thailand. Human Rights Watch and other organizations have urged the Thai government to not return them to China.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/22/w...-to-china-after-deadly-border-clash.html?_r=0
