China cordons off villages, post riots Associated Press
ZHENGZHOU, Nov. 2. — Villages were cordoned off and thousands of police kept watch along roads in central China today following riots between majority Han Chinese and a Muslim minority that killed seven people and injured 42. People in the area have been told they could leave only for emergencies, said the head of a mosque in the village of Nanren, close to the fighting’s epicentre in Henan province.
“I didn’t step out of the mosque the entire time. I only heard that people from our village got into a fight with Han while passing a neighbouring village,” said the imam, who refused to give his name. Martial law was lifted over the area yesterday, the imam said, but “we’re still being told not to leave unless we absolutely have to.” Two of the dead in the rioting were from Nanren, a village of about 5,000 people, he said.
Uniformed officers and members of the paramilitary People’s Armed Police stood guard across the densely populated farming region surrounding the village of Langchenggang where rioting broke out last Wednesday. Up to 5,000 people joined in weekend battles, fighting with clubs and burning houses, residents said.
The origin of the disturbance is still unclear, although residents and the government said it involved a traffic accident. Xinhua yesterday released a brief report on its international service saying seven people were killed, but didn’t say which ethnic groups they came from. Xinhua also said violence began after a traffic dispute. |