Authorities will recruit 8,000 new police officers to augment police ranks in villages and rural areas, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
"Security patrols, management of the migrant population and cracking down on illegal religious activities" will be among their main duties, Xinhua said, citing an unnamed Communist Party spokesman in Xinjiang.
Xinjiang is home to the Uighur ethnic group, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people who account for just over 40 percent of the region`s more than 21 million population.
While they have traditionally practised a very moderate form of Islam, many chafe at government controls on their culture and religion.
"It is an important move for Xinjiang to consolidate the foundation of security and ensure the lasting peace and stability in the region," the Party spokesman said.
The move comes at a time when Chinese forces have cracked down on protests by Tibetans in the western highlands where advocacy groups say seven Tibetans have been shot dead and over 60 wounded over the last week.
Analysts say China`s Communist Party is tightening controls over society and fending off political challenges around the country ahead of a top leadership handover late this year.
In July 2009, Uighurs rioted against Han Chinese residents in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, killing at least 197 people, mostly Han, according to official estimates. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
