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| Riots engulf Chinese Uighur city | Riots engulf Chinese Uighur city |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Groups of ethnic Han Chinese have marched through the city of Urumqi carrying clubs and machetes, as tension grows between ethnic groups and police. | Groups of ethnic Han Chinese have marched through the city of Urumqi carrying clubs and machetes, as tension grows between ethnic groups and police. |
| Security forces imposed a curfew and fired tear gas to disperse the crowds, who said they were angry at violence carried out by ethnic Muslim Uighurs. | Security forces imposed a curfew and fired tear gas to disperse the crowds, who said they were angry at violence carried out by ethnic Muslim Uighurs. |
| Earlier, Uighur women had rallied against the arrest of more than 1,400 people over deadly clashes on Sunday. | Earlier, Uighur women had rallied against the arrest of more than 1,400 people over deadly clashes on Sunday. |
| The two sides blame each other for the outbreak of violence. | The two sides blame each other for the outbreak of violence. |
| AT THE SCENE Quentin Sommerville, Urumqi There are many armed military police standing around, also a few remnants of those Han Chinese demonstrators, still people wandering around the city carrying poles and batons and some carrying knives. | AT THE SCENE Quentin Sommerville, Urumqi There are many armed military police standing around, also a few remnants of those Han Chinese demonstrators, still people wandering around the city carrying poles and batons and some carrying knives. |
| There's a great air of trepidation here as to how this night will play out. | There's a great air of trepidation here as to how this night will play out. |
| I wouldn't have thought today that I would have seen Uighur men and women acting so defiantly in the face of Han Chinese authority, but they did. | I wouldn't have thought today that I would have seen Uighur men and women acting so defiantly in the face of Han Chinese authority, but they did. |
| I wouldn't have thought that thousands of Han Chinese would be able to walk freely through a Chinese city and march and shout slogans. | I wouldn't have thought that thousands of Han Chinese would be able to walk freely through a Chinese city and march and shout slogans. |
| Xinjiang is one of the most tightly-controlled parts of the country. Those controls seem to have slipped quite considerably. class="" href="/2/hi/asia-pacific/8136400.stm">Accounts of Xinjiang violence class="" href="/2/hi/in_pictures/8137810.stm">In pictures: Protests | |
| Officials say 156 people - mostly ethnic Han Chinese - died in Sunday's violence. Uighur groups say many more have died, claiming 90% of the dead were Uighurs. | Officials say 156 people - mostly ethnic Han Chinese - died in Sunday's violence. Uighur groups say many more have died, claiming 90% of the dead were Uighurs. |
| The unrest erupted when Uighur protesters attacked vehicles before turning on local Han Chinese and battling security forces in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province. | The unrest erupted when Uighur protesters attacked vehicles before turning on local Han Chinese and battling security forces in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province. |
| Map showing protest area in Urumqi | |
| They had initially been protesting over a brawl between Uighurs and Han Chinese several weeks earlier in a toy factory thousands of miles away in Guangdong province. | They had initially been protesting over a brawl between Uighurs and Han Chinese several weeks earlier in a toy factory thousands of miles away in Guangdong province. |
| On Tuesday about 200 Uighurs - mostly women - faced off against riot police to appeal for more than 1,400 people arrested over Sunday's violence to be freed. | On Tuesday about 200 Uighurs - mostly women - faced off against riot police to appeal for more than 1,400 people arrested over Sunday's violence to be freed. |
| 'Heart-breaking' violence | 'Heart-breaking' violence |
| Later hundreds of Han Chinese marched through the streets of Urumqi smashing shops and stalls belonging to Uighurs. | Later hundreds of Han Chinese marched through the streets of Urumqi smashing shops and stalls belonging to Uighurs. |
| The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Urumqi, says some of the protesters were shouting "down with Uighurs" as they rampaged through the streets armed with homemade weapons. | The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Urumqi, says some of the protesters were shouting "down with Uighurs" as they rampaged through the streets armed with homemade weapons. |
| UIGHURS AND XINJIANG Xinjiang population is 45% Uighur, 40% Han ChineseUighurs are ethnically Turkic MuslimsChina re-established control in 1949 after crushing short-lived state of East TurkestanSince then, large-scale immigration of Han ChineseSporadic violence since 1991Attack on 4 Aug 2008 near Kashgar kills 16 Chinese policemen Q&A: China and the Uighurs China tells its own story | |
| Police attempted to block access to the bazaar and other Uighur districts of the city and fired tear gas as the Han Chinese confronted groups of Uighurs. | |
| One protester, clutching a metal bar, told the AFP news agency: "The Uighurs came to our area to smash things, now we are going to their area to beat them." | One protester, clutching a metal bar, told the AFP news agency: "The Uighurs came to our area to smash things, now we are going to their area to beat them." |
| Urumqi's mayor, Jierla Yishamudin, said a "life and death" struggle was being waged to maintain China's unity. | Urumqi's mayor, Jierla Yishamudin, said a "life and death" struggle was being waged to maintain China's unity. |
| "It is neither an ethnic issue nor a religious issue, but a battle of life and death to defend the unification of our motherland and to maintain the consolidation of all ethnic groups, a political battle that's fierce and of blood and fire," he told a news conference. | "It is neither an ethnic issue nor a religious issue, but a battle of life and death to defend the unification of our motherland and to maintain the consolidation of all ethnic groups, a political battle that's fierce and of blood and fire," he told a news conference. |
| One official described Sunday's unrest as the "deadliest riot since New China was founded in 1949". | One official described Sunday's unrest as the "deadliest riot since New China was founded in 1949". |
| Xinjiang's Communist Party chief Wang Lequan announced during a televised address that a curfew would run from 2100 until 0800. | Xinjiang's Communist Party chief Wang Lequan announced during a televised address that a curfew would run from 2100 until 0800. |
| State-run news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying any ethnic violence was "heart-breaking" and blaming "hostile forces both at home and abroad" for the trouble. | State-run news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying any ethnic violence was "heart-breaking" and blaming "hostile forces both at home and abroad" for the trouble. |
| China's authorities have repeatedly claimed that exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer is stirring up trouble in the region. | 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. | But she told the BBC she was not responsible for any of the violence. |
| "Last time during the Tibet riots, [the Chinese government] blamed the Dalai Lama, and now with the Xinjiang riot, they are blaming me," she said. | "Last time during the Tibet riots, [the Chinese government] blamed the Dalai Lama, and now with the Xinjiang riot, they are blaming me," she said. |
| "I will never damage the relationship between two communities and will never damage the relationship between people. For me, all human beings are equal." | "I will never damage the relationship between two communities and will never damage the relationship between people. For me, all human beings are equal." |
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