By Xinhua,
Urumqi (China) : The toll in the ethnic clashes in Urumqi, capital of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has risen to 140, authorities said Monday.
Fifty-seven people died at the spot and the others died later in hospital, a spokesman of the regional government said at a press conference Monday.
He said the death toll could climb further.
The clashes took place between Uyghurs and members of China’s Han community.
Several vehicles and shops were also smashed or set ablaze Sunday evening during the violence that the provincial government said was masterminded by the separatist World Uyghur Congress.
“They took to the street, not peacefully, carrying knives, wooden batons, brick and stone,” said Wang Yaming, who was attacked by the mob but saved by a group of Uygurs.
The banned World Uyghur Congress is led by Rebiya Kadeer, a former businesswoman, who was detained in 1999 on charges of harming national security. She was released on bail in March 2005 to seek medical treatment in the US.
“The violence is a pre-empted and organised crime. It is instigated and directed from abroad, and carried out by outlaws in the country,” a government statement said early Monday.
Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang regional government, said the Uyghur Congress had called on its supporters to hold demonstrations over the death of two Uygur workers in a brawl in a toy factory in Guangdong province June 26.
On Sunday evening, the protesters marched and demonstrated in the city that turned violent after the Uyghurs started beating innocent people. They also looted and vandalised several shops and public properties in some places, the official said.