China has stepped up security at train stations and airports after a gang of Islamist separatists with swords and knifes stormed a train station and hacked away at passengers, killing at least 29 people and injuring more than 130.

Authorities say the gang came from Xinjiang province in the restive northwest part of the country, where the Muslim Uighur people believe Han Chinese transplants from the East are overrunning their culture.  Much of the trouble has previously been confined to Xinjiang, with increasing clashes between angry mobs and the authorities.  But this attack in the Kunming train station in the south is now the second notable attack outside the home turf. 

“It shows that Uighurs are, like Chechens in Russia, expressing their discontent throughout the country, not just where they are based,” said Dru Gladney, a professor at Pomona College who has written several books on Muslims in China’s vast, sparsely populated west.

“It’s a sad day for China and a sad day for Uighurs,” he added.  “Many Han think all Uighurs are violent, and this could lead to a real backlash.”

A sign of that came on the front page of one newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party, calling the attack, “China’s 9/11”.

Last October, Islamist militants drove a jeep through pedestrians at Beijing’s Forbidden City, killing two tourists and injuring 40 people.  Three attackers also died.