I just saw the tail end of a news report on ABC, people are being hurt and dying WHAT IS HAPPENING??????????????????
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I just saw the tail end of a news report on ABC, people are being hurt and dying WHAT IS HAPPENING??????????????????
Heavily armed security forces fired tear gas at the crowds and ordered a night curfew in an effort to restore calm in Urumqi, capital of China's remote northwest Xinjiang region, where 156 people died in weekend clashes.
But tensions remained at boiling point, with Han Chinese roaming the city wielding machetes, bricks, chains, steel bars and other weapons while calling for revenge against Muslim Uighurs who they blamed for Sunday's carnage.
"The Uighurs came to our area to smash things, now we are going to their area to beat them," one protester, who was carrying a metal pipe, told AFP.
World leaders have urged restraint from protesters and the authorities to prevent further violence.
"I urge Uighur and Han civic leaders and the Chinese authorities at all levels to exercise great restraint so as not to spark further violence and loss of life," said Navi Pillay, the UN's top human rights official.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Monday said the United States was "deeply concerned" about the reports of deaths in Urumqi and called for "all in Xinjiang to exercise restraint".
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday blamed China's "harsh policies" for fuelling resentment among the Uighurs and urged Beijing to seek a dialogue with the Muslim minority.
Sunday's unrest, which also left more than 1,000 people injured, began with protests by Xinjiang's Uighurs, who have long complained of repression under Han Chinese rule.
Chinese authorities have blamed exiled Muslim Uighurs for masterminding the unrest -- charges they deny -- and announced Tuesday they had arrested 1,434 suspects for murder, assault, looting and other crimes linked to the violence.
But Han Chinese in Urumqi declared they were not satisfied with the government response.
"It is time we looked after ourselves instead of waiting for the government," said Dong Sun, a 19-year-old leader of one mob.
Police prevented the crowds, one of which an AFP reporter estimated was more than 10,000-strong, from entering Uighur neighbourhoods by firing tear gas and erecting barricades.
But in other areas of Urumqi police and other security personnel simply looked on as mobs swept through the streets shouting nationalist slogans.
Others chanted, "Protect our families! Protect our homes!", the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The only incident of direct violence against a Uighur that AFP witnessed was when a small mob stopped a car being driven by a Uighur man. The mob smashed his car but the man was able to drive off.
There were no reports from Chinese state media of direct violence against Uighurs.
Xinjiang Communist Party chief Wang Lequan called for calm as authorities announced a night-time curfew.
"Neither the Han nor Uighur people are willing to see the Han people being attacked," Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.
"It is the same the other way around. If the Han people attack the innocent Uighur people, it is also heart-breaking."
Earlier Tuesday, more than 200 Uighurs, mostly women, staged a protest in front of foreign reporters to demand the release of their relatives detained in the security sweep that followed Sunday's unrest.
The women, with tears rolling down their faces, shook their fists in the air and yelled at police in a tense stand-off that lasted about an hour before ending peacefully.
China's eight million Uighurs are a Turkic-speaking people who have long complained about the influx of Han Chinese into what they regard as their homeland, a vast area of mountains and deserts that borders Central Asia.
Exiled Uighur groups have sought to lay the blame for Sunday's violence on Chinese authorities, saying the protests were peaceful until security forces over-reacted and fired indiscriminately on crowds.
China has accused exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer of masterminding the violence but she has denied the accusations and called on Monday for an international probe into the violence.
The identities of those killed and injured in the riots remained unclear on Tuesday. Chinese authorities have not said how many were Han Chinese or Uighur.
urgh, i never wanna travel overseas..EVER
I assume this is the rioting in Urumqi?
It's really close to the border (I think the Kazakh border but not 100%) and there's a big population of Uighur people, and there's been tension between them and he Han Chinese.
Chinese polica are "handling" it, as Chinese police do...
Are you kidding? I want to go there SO much. Maybe not right now, but I have always wanted to.:
Xinjiang is in that area of China near Mongolia and the borders with all the Khanates. The Uighur people are from a differant ethnic group than the mojority of the Chinese and identify more with their their neighbours in the Khanates tahn with the Chinese. There has been a lot of tension and violent repression over the last few years which has gone largely unreported in the Western and Chinese media. Things have been coming to a head lately especially as more Han Chinese have been moving into the area. Like Tibetians the Uighur feel that they should have autonomy and the Chinese governemnt have responded in a similar fashion, with violence, repression and by moving more Chinese people into the area.
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China riot city 'under control'
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China riot city 'under control'
'Troops have been marching all morning'
The situation in China's riot-torn city of Urumqi is now under control after the deployment of thousands of troops, local Communist officials have said.
The party chief of Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region, vowed that all those found guilty of murder during the riots would be put to death.
The unrest between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese began on Sunday and has left at least 156 people dead.
President Hu Jintao cut short his visit to the G8 summit to tackle the crisis.
Mr Hu flew back from Italy and arrived in Beijing on Wednesday.
Map showing protest area in Urumqi
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Urumqi, says the Xinjiang authorities have been under intense pressure to sort the crisis out as soon as possible amid the embarrassment of Mr Hu having to cancel his G8 attendance.
Call for calm
Urumqi's Mayor Jerla Isamudin said at a press conference in the city: "Under the correct leadership of the regional party committee and government... the situation is now under control."
AT THE SCENE: 8 JULY
Quentin Somerville
Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, Urumqi
Here in Urumqi's Uighur Muslim neighbourhood, just on the edge, many hundreds of paramilitary police are on the move. They are seeking to separate this mainly Muslim part of the city from Han Chinese.
Riot police are all around with shields, helmets, some are carrying semi-automatic weapons, others have clubs. They are lining up across the streets to separate these two sides.
We haven't seen any violence yet, we did see some Han Chinese running with batons, they were chased down a side street but this is massive deployment of troops on a scale this city hasn't seen in a very, very long time. It feels like martial law in everything but name.
The city's Communist party boss, Li Zhi, told the same press conference that the government would execute all those found guilty of killings during the riots.
China carries out more state executions that any other country, and anyone convicted of murder in a riot faces an almost certain death sentence.
The Associated Press news agency quoted Mr Li as saying that many people accused of murder had already been arrested and that most of them were students.
More than 1,400 people are thought to have been arrested over the violence.
Mr Li also appealed for calm.
"Everyone, and particularly the Han people, should show restraint," he said.
Thousands of security personnel had poured into Urumqi to try to quell the rioting.
Our correspondent says the situation in the city is virtually one of martial law.
Despite the security presence and calls for calm, there were reports of fresh violence on Wednesday.
Reuters news agency said a crowd of about 1,000 Han Chinese had faced off with security forces, with some angry that police were arresting young Han men.
AFP reporters also said they had seen fresh violence, including one attack on a Uighur man by Han Chinese.
They said the man was beaten and kicked by about six people as dozens of Han Chinese yelled encouragement, before police moved in to end the attack.
The Chinese president had been expected to join the G8 talks on Thursday.
Instead he flew home from an airport in Pisa, leaving officials to represent him at the summit. A state visit to Portugal was postponed.
The violence began on Sunday when Uighurs rallied to protest against a deadly brawl between Uighurs and Han Chinese several weeks ago in a toy factory in southern Guangdong province.
Officials say 156 people - mostly Han Chinese - died in Sunday's violence. Uighur groups say many more have died, claiming 90% of the dead were Uighurs.
There were further protests on Tuesday when Uighur women rallied against the arrest of family members.
Groups of Han Chinese armed with clubs then rampaged through the streets in a counter-protest that police broke up with tear gas.
China's authorities have repeatedly claimed that exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer is stirring up trouble in the region. But she told the BBC she was not responsible for any of the violence.
Tensions have been growing in Xinjiang for many years, as Han Chinese migrants have poured into the region, where the Uighur minority is concentrated.
Many Uighurs feel economic growth has bypassed them and complain of discrimination and diminished opportunities.
Some Uighurs support the notion of an independent state and there have been a number of bombings and some attacks on security forces.
Chinese authorities say the Xinjiang separatists are terrorists with links to al-Qaeda and receive support from outside the country.
Campaigners accuse China of exaggerating the threat to justify tough security clampdowns in the region.
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XINJIANG: ETHNIC UNREST
Main ethnic division: 45% Uighur, 40% Han Chinese
26 June: Mass factory brawl after dispute between Han and Uighurs in Guangdong, southern China, leaves two dead
5 July: Uighur protest in Urumqi over the dispute turns violent, leaving 156 dead and more than 1,000 hurt
7 July: Uighur women protest at arrests of men-folk. Han Chinese make armed counter-march
8 July: President Hu Jintao returns from G8 summit to tackle crisis
It's awful, seeing bodies in the street and frightened mothers running away with their children in their arms. I hate watching the news most days
Is this it?
:
Chinese city 'under control' after riots
By Tom Iggulden in Xinjiang
Posted 10 hours 52 minutes ago
Updated 46 minutes ago
Police and soldiers have control of the streets of the western Chinese city of Urumqi, but tensions remain high between the two major ethnic groups.
There is a massive security presence on the streets of the regional capital, with police enforcing a curfew after the official riot death toll hit 156 with more than 1,000 wounded.
Some Han Chinese continue to brandish handmade weapons and have scuffled with police who they accuse of not doing enough to protect them.
On a visit to a Uighur slum settlement on the edge of the city, the ABC was told people are too afraid to venture into the city even to buy basic supplies.
Columns of armoured personnel carriers, lorries and riot dispersal vehicles are parked on the streets and thousands of police and soldiers are enforcing a second night of curfew.
More than 1,400 Uighurs have also been arrested after Sunday's bloody protests which targeted Han Chinese.
The English Language China Daily newspaper has called for an end to the violence.
Its editorial reads: "Blood for blood is incompatible with the rule of law and will only lead to a vicious cycle of harm and revenge."
But fear continues to permeate Xinjiang.
Internet and international telephone calls have been blocked and Urumqi airport is crowded with people trying to leave the troubled city.
Not kidding, i have no desire too, there is too much cr@p going on i wouldnt feel safe to leave the motel:
Oops, took so long to find it that everyone else answered first!
Hell yeah, me too.:
And Mongolia!!! How awesome would Mongolia be?
Kazakhstan, man, it's been my dream forever. Well, once I'd lived in the Czech republic.
I really want to get to Samarqand one day. I saw a model of it in the Museum of Islamic Art in KL, and fell in love. There's something so intoxicating about it.
Hey, and this is a whole other thread, DH may be able to get a 6 month post doc in Ankara. We could come home that way. Hmmm.....
P.S. Brontide, you're such a news troll. Love it!