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BEIJING: Beijing subway passengers will be greeted by police officers carrying out security checks beginning on Sunday as part of an Olympic anti-terror drive, state media reported.
Guns, ammunition, explosives and poisonous material will be the focus of the checks, Xinhua news agency said, citing a spokesman of Beijing's Mass Transit Railway Operation.
The security campaign will be carried out until September 20, three days after the end of the Paralympics, according to the unnamed spokesman.
"The measures are taken to maintain the public order and ensure a smooth Olympics," the spokesman said, according to the Xinhua report, issued late Friday.
In addition to police and sniffer dogs, the company has trained about 3,000 extra personnel for the security checks, he said.
"Passengers who reject security checks or insist on carrying dangerous articles will be banned entry or exit and even punished by law," he said.
Police said earlier passengers will have to drink bottled water and other beverages they carry onto the subway to prove the substances are harmless.
China has embarked on a wide-ranging security crackdown ahead of the Games, and has even deployed surface-to-air missile batteries near Beijing Olympic venues in an apparent defence against airborne terror attacks.
It has repeatedly warned that it faces the threat of terror attacks on the Olympics, particularly from "separatists" in its far-western Xinjiang region, which is predominantly Muslim.
Critics have accused Beijing of exaggerating or fabricating the terror threat to provide an excuse to crack down on any dissent that could embarrass China during its time in the Olympic spotlight.
But the United States, Britain and Interpol have all issued travel warnings, saying the Games are a potential target for attack.
- AFP/so
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