The Kizil massacre of 1933 resulted in approximately 800 Hui Chinese and Han civilian deaths during the Kumul Rebellion's broader ethnic and religious conflicts in Xinjiang.
Key Facts
- Date
- June 1933
- Estimated death toll
- ~800 people
- Victims
- Hui Chinese Muslims and Han civilians
- Perpetrators
- Uighur and Kyrgyz Turkic fighters
- Rebel commander at Kizil
- Timur Ali
- Origin of retreating column
- Yarkand New City, heading to Kashgar
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Hotan rebels defeated the local garrison near Shache and brokered an agreement with Hui and Han soldiers guaranteeing their safe withdrawal. The Hui forces subsequently collected weapons from the city intending to reinforce the Chinese garrison at Kashgar, which the rebels interpreted as a violation of the truce terms.
Upon learning of the Hui forces' weapon collection and intent to join Kashgar's garrison, the Hotan rebels alerted the Kashgar rebels under Timur Ali. Timur Ali's forces intercepted and attacked the retreating column at Kizil, killing an estimated 800 Hui Chinese Muslims and Han civilians in June 1933.
Some Hui soldiers managed to escape the attack and subsequently joined the Hui army already stationed in Kashgar. The massacre deepened ethnic and religious hostilities between Turkic Muslim rebels and Hui Chinese forces during the Kumul Rebellion, contributing to the fragmentation of authority across southern Xinjiang.