Public angered by Turkish PM's 'genocide' accusation

• Source: Global Times
• [07:11 July 13 2009]
• Comments

In addition to death and injuries, a total of 627 vehicles, including buses and police cars, were damaged or torched.

Among the 184 reported deaths, 137 were said to be Han, 26 of whom were women. And 46 Uygurs died, including one woman. A man of Hui descent also died, according to the information office of the regional government.

At least one of the dead was a paramilitary policeman, while 10 other police were seriously injured, according to the Xinjiang Armed Police Forces.

Hunting hiding rioters

Traffic restrictions in some areas of the regional capital remained yesterday. Business in the Grand Bazaar, a key shopping district in downtown Urumqi, remained closed.

An official from the publicity department of the Party Committee in Xinjiang yesterday denied foreign media reports that both Han people and Muslim Uygurs have been “trying to flee the city” after the violence.

“It’s normal to see a lot of people leaving at this time when summer vacation begins,” the official said. “University students are departing for travel or going back home, just as in previous years.

“More people are going out of Urumqi while fewer tourists are coming in, making the situation seem unusual, but there is no sign that masses of people are trying to flee the city.”

Not helping the matter is that tourists are now reluctant to travel in Xinjiang. About 8,000 people canceled their plans to visit Kashgar, according to a local official.

Police are still looking for rioters. More than 200 were arrested Thursday, with at least 70 found in one location.

A police officer who refused to be identified told the Global Times that some of the people arrested said they had agreed on a few hiding places when they were planning to riot.

“The rioters had removed bricks on the roadside so they could use them as weapons to attack,” the officer added. “Everything had been planned.”

On Tuesday, Dorikun Askarjiang, a senior leader of the World Uyghur Congress, was quoted by Xinhua as saying, “Urumqi is merely just the beginning of the success.”

In the East Bazaar of Kashgar, which was closed July 6 and reopened Friday, vendors showed up again, selling all kinds of foods and spices.

Soldiers were also stationed at schools, though they are closed for summer vacation.

Foreign reporters from several news organizations were escorted out of Kashgar, “for safety reasons” Friday, although city officials did not explain what the danger was, Reuters reported.

Qiu Wei and Zhang Han contributed to this story.