China has protested over claims that nearly ten thousand people are missing after ethnic rioting earlier this month.

It has called in Japan’s ambassador in Beijing to complain about the Tokyo visit of exiled leader of the Uighur community Rebiya Kadeer. Violence broke out between native Uighurs and Han Chinese on July 5. Rebiya Kadeer is demanding an international team looks into the trouble and claims close to 10,000 people disappeared in one night in the city of Urumqi. Beijing has accused Ms Kadeer, who now lives in the US, of inciting the vioelnce, an allegation she denies. The trouble began after police tried to break up a protest against fatal attacks on Uighur factory workers in south China. Ethnic tension remains high in Xinjiang province after the violence.More about: China, Clashes and riots, Interethnic conflicts

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