Curfew lifted in riot-torn Urumqi, tension prevails

September 3rd, 2009 New protest reported in China city of UrumqiBEIJING — Witnesses report a new protest has broken out in the western Chinese city of Urumqi, which was torn by deadly ethnic rioting in July. People living near the city center reached by telephone said hundreds, possibly thousands of members of China's majority Han ethnic group had gathered downtown to denounce the regional government and deteriorating law and order in the city.

August 4th, 2009 URUMQI - Chinese authorities Tuesday formally arrested 83 people in connection with the July 5 riots that left 197 people dead and more than 1,600 injured in the country's northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, officials said. Prosecutor Utiku'er Abudrehman made the announcement at a press conference in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

August 3rd, 2009 URUMQI - Police in China's northwestern Xinjiang province have detained 319 more people in connection with the July 5 riots in this provincial capital. The arrests were made after the police said to have detained 1,572 people in connection with the clashes in which 197 people were killed and hundreds were injured.

July 31st, 2009 BEIJING - The trials of suspects involved in the deadly July 5 riot in Urumqi are expected to start the middle of August, a source told the China Daily Thursday. The Urumqi Intermediate People's Court has been preparing for the hearings, according to the source.

July 19th, 2009 BEIJING - Government of China's riot-hit Xinjiang region has said that police "resolutely" shot 12 mobsters in the regional capital Urumqi. The chairman of the regional government, Nur Bekri, said that on the night of July 5, policemen tried to warn rioters by firing guns into the air, but it had no effects on these "extremely vicious" thugs.

July 10th, 2009 Some Urumqi mosques open for Friday prayersURUMQI, China — Several mosques in riot-hit Urumqi opened for Friday prayers, despite notices posted earlier saying they would be closed in the wake of ethnic violence that left 156 dead. It was not immediately clear if there was a change of policy or if the mosques were opened because crowds gathered outside them.

July 10th, 2009 DUBAI - Friday prayers were cancelled in China's Urumqi city where riots have left at least 156 people dead and over 1,000 injured, a media report said. "Chinese authorities have cancelled Friday Muslim prayers in Urumqi amid security concerns as troops try to keep control following days of deadly unrest in the city," Al Jazeera reported Friday.

July 9th, 2009 URUMQI - A senior official has warned that China will execute anyone found to be behind the 156 riot killings in the north west city of Urumqi. Sky News quoted Li Zhi, the Communist Party boss of Urumqi, as saying that the government would seek the death penalty over bloody protests in the capital of Xinjiang.

July 8th, 2009 BEIJING - China's riot-hit city of Urumqi appeared calmer early Wednesday, witnesses and state media said, a day after authorities imposed an overnight curfew following more ethnic-related protests and the gathering of armed gangs. "It's pretty normal," one foreign reporter said by telephone as he walked along a main road in the far western city midmorning.

July 8th, 2009 BEIJING - Chinese authorities have lifted a curfew in the riot-hit CITY OF Urumqi after order was restored following deadly riots, a spokesman said. "The curfew was lifted in the morning and now the situation has normalised," the spokesman told RIA Novosti.

July 7th, 2009 URUMQI - The death toll from riots in the western Chinese cities of Urumqi and Kashgar has risen to 156. The official Xinhua news agency quoted senior government officials as saying that Beijing would take firm steps to bring the troubled desert province of Xinjiang under control.

July 7th, 2009 Curfew declared in restive Chinese regionURUMQI, China — Chinese state media say that the government in the restive western region of Xinjiang has declared a curfew following the violence of recent days that has killed at least 156 people and paralyzed the main city of Urumqi. The official Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday that the curfew from 9 p.m.

July 7th, 2009 URUMQI - Internet connectivity was cut in parts of Xinjiang's capital Urumqi following Sunday's riot to prevent violence from spreading, an official said Tuesday. "We cut Internet connection in some areas of Urumqi in order to prevent violence from spreading to other places," said Li Zhi, the Communist Party of China (CPC) chief of Urumqi.

July 7th, 2009 BEIJING - Several hundred Uighurs staged a protest Tuesday as Chinese officials took a group of foreign journalists on a tour of Urumqi, the riot-hit capital of the far western region of Xinjiang. The protesters sat down after they were blocked by riot police, reporters in Urumqi said.

June 18th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district reported no fresh violence Thursday, two days after group clashes left 15 people injured. The curfew imposed would now be relaxed for about 14-16 hours from Friday, an official said.