The western Chinese region of Xinjiang experienced the biggest display of ethnic unrest in recent memory today as thousands of Muslim Uighurs took to the streets in protest.
The protesters smashed up buses, threw stones through shop windows and assaulted Han Chinese passers-by, according to a witness, who said the spark was the recent killing of Uighur migrant workers in Guangdong, southern China.
Xinhua, the state news agency, reported that vehicles were set on fire and traffic guard rails overturned. Bloodied victims were rushed to hospital in the regional capital, Urumqi, as armed riot police moved in to restore order with tear gas, armoured vehicles and road blocks, according to a foreign student in Xinjiang.
A large section of Urumqi was shut off to vehicles tonight , with police manning roadblocks at the perimeter, and witnesses reported large numbers of armed officers inside the cordon. Mobile phone networks appeared to get cut off sporadically.
There’s a terrible situation today. There were big ethnic riots – there was a lot of fighting,” said one Han resident.
“It’s not safe – you can’t go anywhere near there. They’ve blocked it all off. You have to be careful.”
“It’s very dangerous so you can’t go into the centre at all. It’s the Uighurs causing violence,” complained a Han businessman, who said he was unable to get home because of the blocks.
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