10,000 Uighurs disappeared during unrest in China, exiled leader claims

Rebiya Kadeer, the exiled Uighur leader, claimed that almost 10,000 Uighurs had "disappeared" during ethnic unrest in China's north-western region of Xinjiang earlier this month and called on the international community to launch an inquiry.

Speaking during a controversial visit to Japan, Kadeer said Chinese authorities had used undercover "snatch squads" to target Uighurs during clashes between Uighur and Han Chinese in the city of Urumqi on 5 July.

"Almost 10,000 people attending the protests in Urumqi disappeared in one night," Kadeer, president of the pro-independence World Uighur Congress, said. "Where did they go? If they died, where are their bodies? If they were detained, where are they being held?"

It was unclear where Kadeer got her numbers from.

The state news agency, Xinhua, said today that authorities in western China had arrested 253 more people suspected of being involved in the violence in Urumqi, in addition to the 1,434 detained earlier over suspected involvement in the 5 July riot. There are no details of the ethnicity of suspects.

The violence began after police attempted to break up a peaceful protest against the killings days earlier of two Uighur workers by Han Chinese colleagues at a factory in Guangdong, southern China.

At least 197 people died – including 137 Han and 46 Uighurs – and 1,800 others were injured in the worst ethnic violence China has seen for decades.

China has accused Kadeer, 62, of inciting the riots and warned Japan that her visit could damage bilateral ties.

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Han Chinese Attackers should be punished

Han Chinese who took part in violent riots in China's north-west region of Xinjiang should be punished, a senior official in Beijing said today.

While state media have extensively covered the events of 5 July, when Uighurs launched indiscriminate assaults on Han, they did not report Han revenge attacks on Uighurs two days later.

At least 197 people died in the inter-ethnic conflict – including 137 Han and 46 Uighurs – and 1,700 were injured.

"After the 5 July incident, some people in Urumqi, out of indignation over the crimes committed by rioters or sorrow for the loss of their families, did take to the streets," acknowledged Wu Shimin, vice-minister in charge of the state ethnic affairs commission, when asked about the events of 7 July at a press conference in Beijing.

"I believe all ethnic groups need to go through normal channels and adopt legal means to express their opinions; even opinions on unlawful incidents. All people are equal before the law; all ethnic groups are equal before the law. Anyone who has violated the law should be severely punished."

The government has warned it will execute those who used "cruel means" during the unrest. At least 1,400 people have been detained, of whom the majority are believed to be Uighurs.

With Urumqi under a heavy security presence by 7 July, paramilitary police used repeated bursts of teargas to disperse the Han crowd as it headed for a Uighur neighbourhood.

But witnesses reported attacks on Uighur businesses and Uighurs told the Guardian they believed at least four people had been killed in violence that day and the next.

Wu told reporters that increasing exchanges between ethnic groups with different customs, traditions and religious beliefs meant they "may run into conflicts and disputes from time to time".

He insisted all such problems had been handled "in a proper and timely way".

He said China's ethnic policy was "conducive to unity, equality and harmony" and had nothing to do with the riots, adding: "We know those behind the violence were ... seeking the independence of Xinjiang. To this, I can clearly tell them this will never happen."

Officials have accused Uighur exiles of orchestrating the violence.

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Han Chinese armed with iron bars and machetes roamed Urumqi city on Tuesday looking to wreak revenge on Uighurs for bloody ethnic clashes two days earlier which killed 156 and wounded more than 1,000.

Outnumbered riot police used tear gas to try to disperse the thousands of angry protesters who flooded the capital of the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

In a sign of government anxiety about the unrest, the city's Communist Party boss Li Zhi took to the streets to plead with protesters to return home, and overnight "traffic restrictions" -- originally announced as a curfew -- came into effect to halt the violence, in which many people were injured.

Security forces intervened to stop fighting, breaking up a battle between hundreds of rock-throwing Han and Uighurs and forcing a Han mob to leave a building they stormed in a Uighur area, a Reuters reporter said. There were no reports of deaths.

But riot police stood warily by as crowds vented their anger by throwing rocks at a mosque and smashing restaurants and shops owned by Uighurs, a Turkic people who are largely Muslim and share linguistic and cultural bonds with Central Asia.

A new wave of violence hit the capital of the Chinese region of Xinjiang today as thousands of angry Han Chinese rampaged through Urumqi, many smashing up Uighur stores and seeking vengeance for Han deaths at the weekend.

The authorities swiftly imposed a curfew on the restive city in an attempt to quell what the government has already described as the worst riots since the foundation of the People's Republic 60 years ago. Police attempted to disperse today's mob with teargas as they headed towards a predominantly Uighur area, but many were still on the streets armed with whatever came to hand: wooden staves, iron bars, metal chains, nunchuks, shovels and axes.

Rioters smashed Uighur restaurants, threw rocks at a mosque and threatened residents of Uighur areas, although moderates in the crowd attempted to restrain them.

Turks protest against China for East Turkestan

Enraged by images of beaten and bloody bodies of the Uighur Muslim minority in China's Xinjiang district, Turkish demonstrators poured into the streets following Friday prayers in Istanbul on July 10. Waving a huge East Turkestan flag, the old name of Xinjiang, protesters chanted slogans in support of East Turkestan, setting fire to Chinese flags. (Reuters' photos)