Chinese President Hu Jintao (centre) has cut short his trip to Italy and will miss this week’s G8 summit due to the violent unrest in China’s north-western Xinjiang region, where troops have poured into the riot-stricken capital of Urumqi.
Riot police clashed with rock-throwing Han Chinese protesters who took to the streets in the capital of the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang after two days of ethnic unrest left 156 dead and more than 1,000 wounded.
Despite a police crackdown and mass arrests in the restive Xinjiang province, fresh clashes broke out between Chinese anti-riot police and protesters, including baton-wielding Han Chinese, amid mounting international concern.
Asia expert Jacques de Goldfiem, a professor at the La Rochelle university, discusses the ethnic riots that have left more than a hundred dead in China’s Xinjiang province.
The death toll from violence in the capital of China's restive Xinjiang region has reached 156, according to state media. Police have arrested several hundred people they claim are linked to the rioting.
Three Han Chinese (the nation's ethnic majority) were reportedly killed in riots taking place that have swept across the capital of Xinjiang region in western China, the site of recent stand-offs between Muslim Uighurs and security forces.
The United States has released four Chinese Uighurs from Guantanamo Bay and flown them to Bermuda. The men had been held at the controversial prison camp since 2002 but have been cleared of any involvement in terrorism.
