At least 140 people were killed and 800 others injured after weekend clashes between Muslim Uighurs and police rocked China’s western Xinjiang region, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
In a rare public protest, at least 1,000 Uighurs took to the streets of Xinjiang throwing stones at police and setting vehicles on fire. The demonstrators were demanding an investigation into a fight between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese workers in a southern China factory last month, which state media reported left two people dead.
By Monday, Chinese police arrested several hundred demonstrators and contained the protests.
“Traffic control was partially lifted Monday morning in parts of Urumqi ... but tension still exists in the city,” Xinhua reported. “Debris has been cleared from the roads and normal traffic has resumed. Workers are still pulling away damaged vehicles from the worst-affected roads in the city.”
The casualty toll makes this the deadliest outbreak of violence in China in many years.
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
