2014 China–Vietnam border shootout

On 18 April 2014, a group of sixteen Chinese citizens, later identified as ethnic Uyghurs, engaged in a shootout with Vietnamese border guards after seizing their guns as they were being detained to be returned to China. Five Uyghurs and two Vietnamese border guards died in the incident. Ten of the Uyghur perpetrators were men and the rest were women or children.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

2014 China–Vietnam border shootout
Part of the Xinjiang conflict
A warning sign installed on the Chinese side of the border after the shootout. The text – written in Chinese, Vietnamese, Zhuang, and Uyghur – reads: "International border area, unauthorized entry prohibited".
Date 18 April 2014 Location Bắc Phong Sinh border crossing [vi] 21°37′28.4″N 107°43′3.8″E
Belligerents
Uyghur illegal migrants	Vietnam Border Guard
Casualties and losses
5 killed 5 wounded	2 killed 5 wounded

Shootout

The confrontation began after the guards detained a group of Uyghur illegal migrants inside a border post around noon, with the intention of returning them to the Chinese authorities.^[1] Some of the migrants grabbed one or more AK-47 assault rifles from the guards and opened fire on them.^[1]

Hundreds of police officers and border guards surrounded the building during the standoff and urged the migrants inside to surrender.^[5] Some of the migrants who died had committed suicide, while the others were shot dead by Vietnamese police officers and border guards.^[5]

References

1. Wong, Edward (19 April 2014). "Deadly Clash Reported on Border of China and Vietnam". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
2. Wong, Edward (21 April 2014). "Vietnam Returns Migrants to China After Deadly Border Clash". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
3. McDonell, Stephen (19 April 2014). "Seven killed in China-Vietnam border shootout". Australia Network News. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
4. "Vietnam says 7 killed in shooting on China border". The Straits Times. 18 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
5. "Bắc Phong Sinh những ngày thương đau" (in Vietnamese). VN Express. 21 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.