As Riots Quiet, China Vows to Execute Killers

Executed were convicted of murder during Xinjiang province unrest

(NEWSER) - Nine people convicted of murder and arson during July riots in China’s Xinjiang province were executed today. Chinese news services did not identify the executed, but previous statements suggest that they are Uighurs. The riots in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, left 197 people dead as Uighurs clashed with Han Chinese. Uighur activists slammed the executions as token measures to appease the Han community’s desire for revenge, the BBC reports. More»

Rights group: Uighurs vanished after being detained by police

(NEWSER) - Dozens of Uighur men and boys rounded up in the wake of the riots that shook China's Xinjiang province over the summer are missing, according to a reports from a human rights group. Interviews with families in Urumqi found evidence that 43 people had vanished since being taken away by security forces, although that number is "likely just the tip of the iceberg," a director of Human Rights Watch told the BBC. More»

(NEWSER) - Chinese authorities forced mosques in Urumqi to stay closed today and reimposed a curfew in the restive western city, reports the BBC. The curfew was lifted after thousands of troops had seemed to restore order between Han Chinese and Uighur Muslims, who have battled in the worst ethnic violence China has seen in years. Friday is the holiest day of the week in Islam, and at least two mosques held prayers today in defiance of Beijing. More»

(NEWSER) - Thousands of ethnic Han Chinese rioted in the western city of Urumqi today, destroying shops and property belonging to Muslim Uighurs in retaliation for Han deaths over the weekend, the Guardian reports. Police tried to disperse the mob with tear gas, but many rioters remained, throwing rocks at mosques and threatening Uighur residents. “They attacked us. Now it’s our turn to attack them,” said one rioter. More»

All the condemned appear to be Uighurs

(AP) - A court in China's far western Xinjiang region sentenced six men to death today over riots between Muslim Uighurs and members of the Han Chinese majority that killed nearly 200 people in July. The sentences—the first for any of the scores of suspects arrested in the rioting—appeared aimed at placating Han Chinese who have rallied in the regional capital of Urumqi calling for swift justice. An overseas Uighur activist, however, said they were only likely to exacerbate the ethnic tensions. More»