A number of violent incidents have occurred in Xinjiang since the 1990s . In the year before the attack , Xinjiang had ethnic tensions that continued to trouble the region . Before the 2010 Aksu blast , Xinjiang Governor Nur Bekri was quoted as saying Xinjiang faces a " long and fierce and very complicated struggle " because " Separatism in Xinjiang has a very long history , it was there in the past , it is still here now and it will continue in the future . " In July 2009 , riots in Ürümqi resulted in the deaths of numerous Han Chinese and Uyghurs . There was another spate of attacks in the region a few months later
spate of attacks
September 2009 Xinjiang unrest
2010 Aksu bombing