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| 'Five die' in China ethnic unrest | 'Five die' in China ethnic unrest |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Five people have been killed in ethnic unrest in China's western city of Urumqi this week, officials say. | Five people have been killed in ethnic unrest in China's western city of Urumqi this week, officials say. |
| It was unclear how the deaths happened, but thousands of Han Chinese have been protesting over a unexplained spate of stabbings with syringes. | It was unclear how the deaths happened, but thousands of Han Chinese have been protesting over a unexplained spate of stabbings with syringes. |
| Riot police used tear gas to disperse angry crowds earlier, and China's top security official has arrived in Urumqi to try to restore order. | Riot police used tear gas to disperse angry crowds earlier, and China's top security official has arrived in Urumqi to try to restore order. |
| Many of the protesters blame ethnic Uighur Muslims for the stabbings. | |
| In July about 200 people - mostly Han Chinese - were killed in ethnic riots in Urumqi. | |
| Chinese authorities blame Uighur separatists for July's violence, saying it was orchestrated by Uighur separatists in exile. | |
| Xinjiang's population is split between mainly-Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese - the country's majority ethnic group. | |
| 'Separatist forces' | |
| Zhang Hong, vice-mayor of Urumqi, confirmed to reporters that there had been casualties in the latest unrest. | |
| "On Thursday, 14 people were injured and sent to hospital and five people were killed in the incidents including two innocent people," the AFP news agency reported him as saying. | |
| Mr Zhang gave no further explanation of how the people were killed. | |
| Meanwhile, Beijing has sent its top security official, Meng Jianzhu, to Urumqi. | |
| On his arrival he was quoted by state-run news agency Xinhua as saying the spate of syringe attacks was a continuation of the July unrest. | |
| He said the attacks were instigated by ethnic separatist forces seeking to undermine ethnic unity and urged local officials "to restore social order as soon as possible". | |
| But analysts say Mr Meng's visit reflects Beijing's desire to take control of the situation - and suggests the central government no longer trusts local officials. |