Chinese keep tight control in Xinjiang

Chinese security forces have continued to exert a tight grip in Urumqi in the Xinjiang region. There have been some signs of life returning to normal, but tension remains high after days of ethnic violence.

Thousands of troops are still patrolling the streets, keeping the Muslim Uigurs and Han Chinese communities apart. Many Uighurs are angry over the arrests made since the trouble began. More than 1,400 people are thought to have been detained.

In one Uighur district, women complained that their husbands had been taken away, and said they did not know where they were.

An amateur video sent to the Reuters news agency appears to show Chinese security forces going into a Uighur neighbourhood to make arrests. What sounds like gunfire can be heard. The authenticity of the material cannot be verified.

The trouble follows years of tension in the region. Many Uighurs resent Beijing’s rule and feel threatened by an influx of Han Chinese from the east.

Copyright © 2009 euronews

tags: China, Conflict, Demonstration