BEIJING, March 04. /ITAR-TASS/. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) condemned a deadly knife attack at a railway station in Chinese Kunming and believed it had demonstrated a need to build up cooperation in fight against terrorism, the SCO secretary general said in a statement received by Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

“No manifestation of terrorism and violence against peaceful citizens can be justified. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization expresses sincere condolences to the families of those who were killed or injured, to the people and leadership of the People’s Republic of China,” said the statement by SCO Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev.

“This act of terror once again demonstrates the need for a further buildup of cooperation of the international community in fight against terrorism and extremism in any forms and manifestations,” the statement said.

Late on March 1, knife-wielding men rushed into a railway station in Kunming in south-west China, killing 29 people and wounding 143. The investigators said the group consisted of eight people, six men and two women. The leader of the group was reported to be Abdurehim Kurban. The Chinese authorities described the incident as a “terrorist attack”, blaming it on separatist forces from the western region of Xinjiang, which is home to the Muslim Uighur minority group having a long history of discord with the Chinese authorities.