Massive riots erupt in northwest China; 140 killed

In the deadliest riots in China in recent times, at least 140 people were killed and over 800 injured in the country's restive northwest where protesters from the ethnic Muslim Uygur community clashed with Han Chinese, prompting a police crackdown.

The riots erupted last night in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, leaving 140 people dead and nearly 820 injured, state-run Xinhua news agency said today quoting officials of the regional government.

"While 57 people were confirmed dead on the scene of the clash, others succumbed to their injuries at a hospital," a spokesman of the regional government told newsmen.

He said the death toll "would still be climbing".

The latest riots are the worst to have hit the region, marked by a history of unrest and separatist movements.

During last August's Beijing Olympics 17 policemen were killed in what was described as a "terrorist" attack by Uygur militants.

Hundreds of protesters who hit the streets yesterday were demanding an investigation into a clash between Uygur and Han Chinese labourers at a toy factory in southern China last month in which two people were killed.

The violence erupted after an initially peaceful demonstration went out of control with violent protesters smashing vehicles and clashing with police. Uygur exile groups alleged that the violence started only after police launched a violent crackdown.

Police cracked down on protesters last night, arresting several hundred of them, "including more than ten key figures who fanned the unrest yesterday," a regional government official said.

Xinhua said that the police are still searching for about 90 other key figures in the city.

China's state television broadcast images of riots, with violent protesters armed with knives, wooden batons, bricks and stones ransacking public property and smashing vehicles.

The report run on state television, drawn from CCTV footage, showed protesters hurling stones at police and setting vehicles on fire.

The report blamed separatist World Uygur Congress head Rebiya Kadeer, for orchestrating the violence. On exile, Kadeer now lives in the United States.

"An initial investigation showed the violence was masterminded by Kadeer," the government said in a statement.

Xinjiang has a roughly eight million population of Uygurs, who have alleged that the government suppresses their rights. An overwhelming majority of the capital's 2.3 million people are Han Chinese.

Traffic control was partially lifted this morning in parts of Urumqi, but tension still persists in the city where most markets remained closed, Xinhua said.

It said armed police were patrolling the streets and blockades continue to be in place. Residents in Urumqi were quoted as saying that they still felt no sense of safety although the order was being restored.