Syria: 5,000 Chinese Uyghurs fighting in Syria

A Syrian official claimed that nearly 5,000 Chinese Uyghurs are fighting with militant groups in Syria.

Syrian Ambassador to Beijing, Imad Mustafa, said: “Our estimated numbers, because of the numbers we fight against, we kill, we capture, we wound, would be around 4-5,000 Xinjiang jihadists.”

“China as well as every other countries should be extremely concerned,” Mustafa said, adding that China and Syria are cooperating to face this threat.

China has repeatedly warned that the Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim minority pose a major threat to Beijing with some traveling illegally to Syria and Iraq through Southeast Asia and Turkey to fight with militants there.

Read: Syria-China ties set to strengthen

Daesh claimed responsibility for the killing of a Chinese hostage in 2015 highlighting China’s concern about Uyghurs it says are fighting in the Middle East.