China accuses Turkey of luring Uygurs to ISIS

Downplaying criticism over the deportation of 109 Uygur Muslim immigrants from Xinjiang by Thailand, China has alleged that they were on their way to Turkey, Syria or Iraq to join Islamic State terror group and take part in jehad.Several recruitment gangs were uncovered in Turkey by a Chinese police investigation, It was also discovered that Turkish diplomats in some Southeast Asian countries had facilitated the illegal movement of people, the Ministry of Public Security said. Of the 109 individuals returned to China this week, 13 had fled China after being implicated in terrorist activities and another two had escaped detention, a statement from the ministry said.

State television showed the hooded and handcuffed immigrants brought in special planes with two policemen escorting each one of them.According to their accounts, many had been radicalized by materials released by the World Uygur Congress and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a militant organisation fighting for the separation of Xinjiang from China, the statement said. 

After arriving in Turkey, many, led by the ETIM terrorist group, went on to Syria to join the fighting.Even those who did not get as far as Syria, were involved in jihadist activities wherever they had stopped, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.China blamed ETIM for host of terrorist attacks in Xinjiang and various parts of China including Beijing and Kunming. There was unrest among Uygurs, who are Muslims of Turkish origin over the increasing settlements of Han population. The mass deportation of Uygur immigrants from Thailand has come for strong criticism from the US and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.