27 dead, in Kunming railway station attack

plawolf

Lieutenant General
Re: World News Thread & Breaking News!!

Sounds like they already shot a number of the attackers.

This was a suicide attack on sorts. Pretty much the same MO as the Indian Mumbai attack, where the attackers just randomly attacked civilians in the hopes of causing as many casualties as they can before they were taken out. The only difference being these attackers didn't have guns so used knives instead, so the civilian death toll is far lower.

It really disgusts me that the likes of the BBC keeps trying to score pathetic points with their coverage of such stories instead of showing a shred of compassion for the victims or indignation at the terrorist scum that perpertrate such attacks. :mad:
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
This is tragic..my condolences to the families of the victims of this murderous attack.

Any more information that any member knows of please post.

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KUNMING (AFP, REUTERS) - Unidentified armed gunmen reportedly stormed a railway station in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, yesterday, leaving 27 dead and at least 109 injured, reports said.

State television said on its official microblog that the incident had been deemed a "violent terror attack".

Victims described knife-wielding attackers dressed in black bursting into Kunming railway station and slashing indiscriminately.

Beijing's top security official was reported to be heading to the scene.
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
More news...

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A group of knife-wielding men dressed in black attacked Kunming Railway Station last night. At least 27 people were killed and 109 injured.

Online postings by witnesses said the men began to hack passers-by “crazily” with long knives shortly after 9pm. The attack started outside the station and continued to the ticket hall.

Gunshots were heard and Xinhua said “several predators were shot dead” by police.

The attack came ahead of the opening of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on Monday and the National People’s Congress on Wednesday. This is traditionally the most politically sensitive time of the year, with the government eager to maintain stability and paint a rosy picture as thousands of delegates and government leaders head to the capital.

Pictures posted on weibo, the Twitter-like social media, showed blood, luggage and clothes scattering on the floor of the ticket hall. Some photos showed victims lying in pools of blood inside and outside the train station. Such violence is extremely rare in Kunming, the usually peaceful capital of Yunnan.

A posting online said the attackers were five young men dressed in black uniforms. The police did not specify their number, or their ethnicity or motives, although some online postings alleged they were Uygurs.

A hotel worker told the Sunday Morning Post last night she heard the same rumour from people who took refuge in her hotel. “People are rushing towards our hotel. We heard that the attackers are dressed in black, and they are Uygurs.”

Although the police said they shot dead the assailants she said the city was in panic. A number of police officers were also injured.

“Our guests who walked passed the train station told us not to leave the hotel because the situation is dangerous. We dare not leave the hotel right now. There are many police outside. We just fear that not all the attackers have been caught.”

A microblogger named “HuangY3xin-Dione”, who was dining in a restaurant near the station, said she was “scared to death”, adding that she saw a group of men in black with two long knives chasing people.

Another hotel employee told the Post that a number of roads had been cordoned off.

China has been hit by a series of violent incidents in recent months, but most of them were in restive Xinjiang. The authorities blame Uygur separatists. In October last year, an SUV careened along a packed pedestrian walkway in Tiananmen Square and struck dozens of people before bursting into flames. Police blamed Uygur separatists.
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
DO NOT post photos of the dead bodies of the victims of this murderous assault in this forum. DON'T DO IT!!

Keep the tone of the discussion civil and within the parameters of the forum rules.


bd popeye super moderator
 

SinoSoldier

Colonel
The thing I'm really infuriated about is the lack of a government response to this. The CCP will lose a great deal of its legitimacy if it doesn't perpetuate a strong and clear answer to this incident.

Putin would have thought differently.
 
Clearly even terrorists armed with melee weapons like knives or swords can cause significant casualties in a population and country with civilian authorities as under-armed as China's.

Do Chinese police (beat cops not PAP)/Public Security officials have regular access to anything more than their belts? Even just pepper spray or a baton? I'm not even going to suggest tasers. Does the Chinese population have access to these very basic personal protection items? If not then at least regular police/Public Security people need to be equipped with these things, if not also made available to regular civilians. Even just a broom for crying out loud!

How does anyone expect a barehanded policeman to stop even just one ticked off crazy person with a kitchen knife? Not to mention fully functioning groups of people with knives or swords out to deliberately kill others!

Terrorists with knives or swords will be stopped within a minute in the US! I'll give them five minutes in a bleeding heart liberal area, but they will still probably be held off with a baseball bat or golf club.
 

plawolf

Lieutenant General
Who walks around with a baseball bat or gulf club?

This sort of suicide attack is near impossible to stop, anywhere. Just a few months ago, a lone gunmen walked into LAX and shot a load of guards. He could have killed far more people had he wanted he, but that particular lunatic was targeting boarder agency guards so the death toll was very small. And it took a lot longer than a minute for him to be stopped.

5-10 armed guys would have cause a lot of casualties and taken a hell of a lot longer than a minute to take down. Some of us need to take a breath and stop letting raw emotions get the better of our reasoning.
 

Mr T

Senior Member
I wonder, are/were the attackers terrorists as we understand the term? Lots of people carry out random attacks in China because they're angry and want to take "revenge". They're not actually trying to inflict terror or bring about political change, even if what they do is horrible. It's conceivable they could congregate to carry out attacks together.

There's no point in demanding "action" from the Chinese government if it's not clear who carried out the attack or why.
 
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