140 killed, 800 injured in Xinjiang riots

• Source: Global Times
• [07:50 July 07 2009]
• Comments

Firemen put out a fire after buses were set ablaze on Dawannanlu Street in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

By Cheng Gang in Urumqi and Qiu Wei in Beijing

Tensions lingered yesterday in Urumqi, and part of the city remained under martial law following a Sunday night riot that left at least 140 dead and more than 800 injured, officials said.

Armed police could be seen patrolling streets in the capital city of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Northwest China. Most shops in areas where the violence occurred remained closed yesterday and few vehicles were seen in the streets.

In People’s Square, where the unrest started, riot police and armed police forces could be seen en masse.

Police remained yesterday at the highest level of combat readiness since martial law was declared Sunday, an officer in Urumqi, who asked not to be named, told the Global Times.

“We had a sleepless night Sunday,” the officer said, adding that many of the dead were killed in stampedes. He also said more turmoils could not be ruled out.

Some began to gather at People’s Sqaure at 6:20 pm and later started burning and smashing vehicles and confronting police, according to footage shown on State broadcaster China Central Television.

In the early hours of Sunday, local police were tipped off that information was spreading on Internet forums calling for demonstrations at People’s Square, local authorities said. The violence began around 8 pm, when some rioters started beating pedestrians and smashing buses, and the mayhem quickly spread to other parts of the downtown area.

“The mob took sticks, swords and petrol bombs; some of them even had guns,” Zhong Liang, a local resident, told the Global Times. “A lot of people were killed in those secluded alleys.”

The violence erupted from the central commercial district of Urumqi, Zhong said.

“Han people were especially targeted by rioters. But some other Uygurs were seen helping the attacked Hans,” Zhong said.

The No. 3 Hospital of Urumqi had received 98 injured people as of last night. Zhao Gang, of Beijing, arrived in Urumqi Sunday night and said he was chased and beaten by rioters. Zhao sought refuge in a military compound.

Uygurs make up the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang, dominating the populations of cities such as Kashgar, but the majority of residents in the capital are Han. Urumqi has a population of about 2.3 million.