Ethnic unrest continues unabated in China's Xinjiang

The worst-ever ethnic clashes to hit Communist China continued unabated today as more people were injured as Uyghur Muslims and Han Chinese settlers fought pitched street battles as the government poured in Army troops into the restive northwest region to stem the violence.

Though the Chinese officials claimed that the massive riots had left 156 dead, exiled Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer put the toll as high as 500.

Thousands of Han Chinese and local Uyghurs armed with makeshift weapons were locked in a tense standoff as thousands of Chinese troops armed with automatic weapons and batons struggled to keep them apart.

The worst-ever communal clashes to hit China forced president Hu Jintao to cut short his visit to Italy for the G-8 Summit.

The scale of the ethnic clashes forced Hu, general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China to cut-short his official visit to Italy for the G-8 summit and rush back home, Chinese foreign ministry said in Beijing.

Authorities clamped down 24 hours curfew in this provincial capital of Xinjiang as the government warned that violators would be executed, but warnings had little impact as groups of Uyghur Muslims and Han Chinese armed with iron-rods, pipes and make-shift weapons fought in street corners.

In fresh incidents, roaming groups of Han Chinese targeted Uyghurs injuring two of them as Army helicopters flew overhead dropping leaflets calling for peace.

But, Uyghurs who comprised a majority of 2.3 million residence of the city got angry as the leaflets sought to blame the exiled community leader Rebiya Kadeer for the riots.

Kadeer in a article in Wall Street Journal claimed that 400 Uyghurs had been killed by the Chinese police. She also claimed that another 100 community members had been killed in the neighbouring city of Kashgar.

Thousands of riot police and troops formed a demarcation line along with Renmin road in the east of the city keeping apart hundreds of Uyghurs and Han Chinese.

Both the sides were armed with pipes, rocks and other makeshift weapons and traded hot exchanges, abuses and slogans against each other as the police separated them.

The city, according to reports has descended into a chaos as mobs roamed the streets. Thousands of Han Chinese surged towards the Uyghurs only to be pushed back by the security forces who lobbed teargas shells.

Though the situation was claimed to be "under control" by the Communist Party boss of Urumqi Li Zhi, the official warned that rioters would be executed on sight.

He said, thousands of people had been taken into custody as a precautionary measure. "Those who brutally killed in the riots would be sentenced to death."

His remarks came as thousands of heavily armed troops were stationed along the main east-west artery to the city to separate the two warring communities to prevent further bloodshed.

But, Han Chinese still intent on revenge were prowling the main roads on the lookout for Uighurs.