At least 140 people killed in violent clashes in China
- 00:00:55
- ITN
At least 140 people killed in violent clashes in China
Violence at a Muslim rally in China has left 129 people dead and more than 800 injured. The silent sit-down protest turned into a violent riot when nearly 1,000 protesters - mostly from the Uighur ethnic group - turned on police who were trying to disperse them. They overturned barricades, attacked bystanders and set cars on fire as they clashed with officers. The protesters had gathered in the city of Urumqi in the country's western Xinjiang region to demand an investigation into a fight between Uighur and Han Chinese workers at a factory in southern China last month. The Xinhua local news agency said at the time that two died in the factory fight, but the real figure was believed to be higher. Tensions between Uighurs and Chinese are never far from the surface in Xinjiang, China's vast Central Asian buffer province. Uighur separatists have demanded independence in recent decades, and the military, armed police and riot squads maintain a visible presence in the region. After a few years of relative calm, separatist violence picked up last year with attacks against border police and bombings of government buildings.
ITN | July 6, 2009
