Riots in Urumqi, 156 Dead, Hundreds More Injured, and Thousands Arrested

Yesterday’s riots in the city of Urumqi, located in China’s western Xinjiang province, have left at least 156 people dead and over 800 people injured. Xinhua (Chinese State Media) claims there have been over 1434 arrests.

Xinhua further reports the government said: “An initial investigation showed the violence was masterminded by the separatist World Uighur Congress led by Rebiya Kadeer.” Kadeer is considered the Uigher leader and lives in exile in the United States.

Many in Xinjiang have long campaigned to gain independence from China, which is made up of prominently Han Chinese, while  Xinjiang is primarily Uigher Muslims.

The CNN article on the topic is here:http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/07/06/china.uyghur.protest/index.html