Urumqi unrest leaves several dead

Han Chinese protesters have blamed Uighurs for carrying out the attacks  [AFP]

At least five people have been killed after a day of protests in the Chinese city of Urumqi in Xinjiang region.

Zhang Hong, Urumqi's deputy mayor, said the deaths followed
demonstrations on Thursday by members of China's Han ethnic group who
are demanding punishment of Muslim Uighurs blamed for the July 5
rioting that killed nearly 200 people.

"On
Thursday, 14 people were injured and sent to hospital and five people
were killed in the incidents, including two innocent people," Zhang
told reporters.

He did not say what he meant by "innocent" and gave no breakdown of the toll.

Protesters
marched again on Friday, and police used use tear gas and public
appeals to break up crowds of Han who tried to break through to
government offices.

There were no deaths in Friday's protests, Zhang said.

Syringe attacks

The protesters say the authorities have failed to stop a number of syringe attacks or to punish the Muslim Uighurs.

But Uighur leaders say members of their community have also been hurt in the attacks.

More than 500 syringe stabbings have been reported which, like the earlier violence, have targeted mostly Han.

Xinhua, the state-run news agency, quoted Zhang as saying the syringe attackers were Uighurs.

In comments broadcast on national television, Meng Jianzhu,
Beijing's public security minister, said: "The needle stabbing incident
is a continuation of the '7-5' incident, and it's plotted by unlawful
elements and instigated by ethnic separatist forces. Their purpose is
to damage ethnic unity."

It was the first time the authorities had suggested Uighurs were involved.

The
government has, meanwhile, banned "unlicensed marches, demonstrations
and mass protests" and will disperse or detain those who disobey,
reported Xinhua.

Thousands of soldiers and paramilitary police
were on the city's streets on Friday, leaving many areas deserted and
businesses closed.

Local TV reports said that 476 people had sought treatment for
stabbings, although only 89 had obvious signs of being pricked and no
deaths, infections or poisonings had occurred.

On Friday, pararamilitary police with shields, sticks and submachine
guns slung over their backs sealed off People's Square in the centre of
Urumqi.

Groups of armed security personnel also guarded intersections in the
centre of the city, blocking access to anyone without identification
showing they lived or worked there.

The latest unrest has been seen as a sign that despite that crackdown, sectarian tensions remain high in the city.

"People are angry at the government, they are scared. We are living
under conditions that are not normal," Zhou Yijun, a government office
worker, told the Associated Press.

Resentment

Another man, who gave his name only as Zheng, told the news agency
people were very upset about the stabbings and described relations
between Han Chinese and Uighurs as "very bad".

"These people making trouble, we catch one, we kill one," he said.

Ethnic relations in Xinjiang have grown increasingly strained in
recent years, with many Uighurs resentful at the migration of millions
of Han Chinese into what they see as their homeland.

The Uighurs say the Han have unfairly benefited from the mineral
wealth of Xinjiang, a strategically vital Central Asian region with
significant oil and gas deposits.

Meanwhile, the Han often stereotype Uighurs as lazy, more concerned
with religion than business, and unfairly favored by set-aside quotas
for government jobs and university places.