Independent monitors and observers should be involved in investigating the latest raid in the Xinjiang region by Chinese authorities.

The raids reportedly left 28 people dead, Human Rights Watch said today. Clarifying facts on the ground is crucial in order to know whether excessive force was used, Reuters reported.

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According to Xinjiang Daily, on Nov. 20, about 28 thugs had been destroyed and one had surrendered in a raid in Aksu Prefecture. The report placed the blame on the individuals of participating in the attack on a coalmine on September 18, in Aksu and said they were guided by a foreign extremist group. The attack which happened on September led to deaths of 11 residents and 5 police officers and 18 people injured.

On November 17, Radio Free Asia had reported that among those killed on November during China's raid were young children. The report gave different casualty figures hence, raised concerns about how the raid had been implemented and why extra force was used. Also, conflicting reports by other international media outlets after comparable past raids have differed from the state media's coverage.

"Violence aimed at terrorizing the population is always totally unworthy, it does not shield the government's response from scrutiny. The death number in China's counterterrorism campaigns is causing doubt about Beijing's tactics and goals," said the China director at Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson. "If China truly has nothing to hide, then it is past time to allow UN experts, diplomats, independent journalists and other observers' free access to the region to examine all such incidents."

A number of ruthless attacks have resulted into deaths of residents in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in recent years. Bomb blasts in Urumqi, in May 2014, the regional capital, killed about 30 people and wounded more than 90, according to the state media. Although no one claimed responsibility, state media suggested the attack was the work of "terrorists," and similar allegations were made about violent attacks in Kunming, Yunnan Province, in March 2014.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi after the Paris attacks called on the world to end 'double standards' and acknowledge China's terrorism problems," Richardson said. "But Beijing undermines its credibility by strangling access to Xinjiang, and the only way to regain it is to allow independent investigations."

TagsIndependent monitors, Xinjiang region, Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson, Paris Attacks