Friday prayers cancelled in riot-hit Urumqi: Report

September 6th, 2009 URUMQI - Life gradually returned to normalcy Sunday in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang region Sunday, where police have eased traffic restrictions imposed in the wake of public protests. The city had witnessed widespread protests in the past several days after many people were stabbed by syringes.

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 11th, 2009 URUMQI - Authorities in northwest China's Xinjiang province Saturday said that tourism and air transport have been affected by the July 5 ethnic violence that claimed at least 184 lives. Authorities in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said Saturday both tourism and air transport have been hurt by the July 5 riot that left 184 dead in Urumqi, the regional capital.

July 10th, 2009 URUMQI - Some mosques in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi were closed Friday following Sunday's deadly riot that left at least 156 people dead, a Chinese official said. All five major mosques near the Southern Jiefang Road, centre of Sunday's violence, were closed Friday morning.

July 10th, 2009 URUMQI - Some mosques in Xinjiang's restive capital Urumqi were closed Friday, even as Muslims were being persuaded to attend their weekly congregational prayer at home following Sunday's deadly riot that killed at least 156 people. According to the official Xinhua news agency, all five major mosques near the Southern Jiefang Road, the center of the Sunday violence, were closed on Friday morning.

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 9th, 2009 GUANGZHOU - Many tourist agencies are calling off group trips to China's Xinjiang region following the recent deadly riots in Urumqi city that left at least 156 people dead and over 1,000 injured. "We are hoping that travel can resume by July 20, but it depends on the status in Xinjiang", said Tang Qiting, deputy manager with Guangzhilu International Travel Service in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province.

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 8th, 2009 URUMQI - Riot-hit Chinese city Urumqi appeared calm under heavy paramilitary police presence Wednesday after an overnight traffic curfew, though sporadic violence was still reported. Traffic restrictions continued to be imposed in some major streets Wednesday, with members of the Armed Police patrolling.

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 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.

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.