Recalling the nightmare: witnesses' account of Xinjiang riot

• Source: Xinhua
• [19:21 July 06 2009]
• Comments

BLOOD TAINTED STREET

Liu Jie was owner of a supermarket in the Houquan street, which lost more than 900,000 yuan in the riot.

In the street, five buses and four cars were burned and a driver was missing, said the lady in her 30s, who was still quivering and shedding tears. Her hands and legs were black covered with dust and ashes.

"Rioters came at 7:50 p.m....altogether five groups," she said. Next door to the supermarket was a training center. Liu and more than 100 students from the center hid in the basement of the supermarket as rioters were overturning the shelves and smashing bottles.

Then someone set fire to the market, and those in the basement moved to the yard. "We were scared to death," she sobbed. But nobody dared to go out.

At about 2 a.m. Monday when they heard that police came in, they shouted "help" and were rescued.

When they came out, Liu saw many people lying in the street. "Blood was everywhere," she said.

Xinhua reporters saw in the street that wheels of two cars were still on fire as of Monday noon.

Within 100 meters there scattered more than 20 blood traces and some bricks with blood and hair on them.

BLOGGER'S PHOTOS

A blogger, who claimed himself witness of the tragedy, posted some photos on the China.com.

One of the photos seemed to be the aftermath of the riot. In the dim lamp light, dozens of people were standing, while six or seven people, or bodies, were lying on the road.

On another, a middle-aged man in white shirt was trying to stop blood bleeding for a young man, who lay on his back on the road with blood on his neck, his white shirt and on the ground.