Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
China says police shot dead 12 Uighurs this month
Sat Jul 18, 2009 10:16am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Max Duncan
URUMQI, China (Reuters) - Chinese police shot dead 12 Uighur rioters in Xinjiang this month, regional governor Nuer Baikeli said on Saturday, in a rare government admission of deaths inflicted by security forces.
In Xinjiang's worst ethnic unrest in decades, Uighurs attacked majority Han Chinese in regional capital Urumqi on July 5 after taking to the streets to protest against an ethnic clash at a factory in south China in June which left two Uighurs dead.
The violence left 197 people dead and more than 1,600 wounded, mostly Han Chinese who launched revenge attacks in Urumqi days later. About 1,000 people, mostly Uighurs, have been detained in an ensuing government crackdown.
Asked to elaborate on the casualties, the governor said most of the victims sustained head wounds after they were bludgeoned with bricks and iron rods.
Police shot dead 12 armed Uighurs attacking civilians and ransacking shops after they ignored warning shots fired into the air, said Nuer Baikeli, a Uighur, a Turkic people who are largely Muslim and share linguistic and cultural bonds with Central Asia.
Of the 12, three were killed on the spot, while nine died either on their way to or after arriving at hospital.
"In any country ruled by law, the use of force is necessary to protect the interest of the people and stop violent crime. This is the duty of policemen. This is bestowed on policemen by the law," the governor said.
Beijing cannot afford to lose its grip on a vast territory that borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil reserves and is China's largest natural gas-producing region.
DVD FOOTAGE
Police exercised the "greatest restraint," the governor said in a 100-minute interview with a small group of reporters, including from Reuters.
"Most of the victims were innocent civilians," Nuer Baikeli said. "The violent elements were most inhuman, barbaric ... extremely vicious, unscrupulous and brutal."
The unrest was Xinjiang's "most abominable, had the most serious consequence and the worst impact" since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, he said.
The government handed out copies of a four-odd-minute DVD with footage from police and surveillance cameras inside and outside a mosque purportedly showing three Uighurs trying to force Muslim worshippers to take to the streets.
The knife-wielding trio chased some of the worshippers when they refused, according to the footage. Two of the three were shot dead when they tried to attack patrolling police.
Xinjiang has long been a tightly controlled hotbed of ethnic tension, fostered by an economic gap between many Uighurs and Hans, government controls on religion and culture and an influx of Han migrants who now are the majority in most key cities. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Somali pirates free German-owned ship after ransom
Swine Flu
H1N1 virus spreading too fast to count
The World Health Organization says that the H1N1 flu pandemic is the fastest-moving pandemic ever and that it is now pointless to count every case. Full Coverage | Slideshow
Flu outbreak means lost summer for Mexican tourism
Blog: Graphic timeline of global flu pandemics
Factbox: How to fight flu spread
More International News
U.S. ready for talks and sanctions for North Korea
Clinton meets Mumbai victims, serenaded by artisans
Investigators sift for clues from Indonesia bombs
| Video
U.S. State Dept helicopter crashes in Iraq, two dead
U.S. fighter jet crashes in Afghanistan, 2 dead
More International News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Obama has tough-love message for African-Americans | Video
Hillary Clinton rejects notion of diminished role | Video
Obama tries to regain momentum in healthcare debate | Video
Ahmadinejad: Iran will "bring down" Western foes
New Harry Potter movie sets world opening record
Earnings to decide stocks' fate
Legendary TV news anchor Walter Cronkite dies | Video
Obama pushes healthcare reform, critics slam cost | Video
U.S. fighter jet crashes in Afghanistan, 2 dead
Yahoo board member Icahn wants Microsoft deal
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
CCTV video shows Jakarta blast
Campaign saves Escobar's hippo
Obama pushes healthcare reform
Sarkozy stirs crowd in New York
Miss Moscow can take the heat
U.S. legend Cronkite dies
Summers defends recovery efforts
Jakarta blasts halt Man U visit
Pilgrimmage tests Iraqi forces
Tehran demonstrators renew clashes
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.