140 killed in Chinese ethnic violence
Ethnic violence in the capital of China’s volatile Xinjiang region killed 140 people and injured 828 after Muslim protesters rioted and clashed with police, officials said today.
The violence in Urumqi was sparked by a peaceful protest yesterday which escalated.
Wu Nong, director of the news office of the Xinjiang provincial government, said today that more than 260 vehicles were attacked or set on fire and 203 houses damaged.
The protesters were demanding an investigation into a big fight between Uighurs and Han Chinese workers at a factory in southern China last month which state media said left two people dead.
Xinhua said several hundred people had been arrested and police were searching for 90 “key suspects”.
It was unclear whether most victims were Han Chinese or Uighurs.
