Bloodthirsty mobs strike back against Uighurs in Xinjiang

Bloodthirsty mobs strike back against Uighurs in Xinjiang

Vengeance-seeking Han Chinese struck back against minority Muslim Uighurs in China's Xinjiang province on Tuesday as anger and panic ruled the capital of Urumqui.




Two days after violent clashes between the ethnic groups left 156 dead and more than 1,000 injured, thousands of Han Chinese roamed the streets armed with such improvised weapons as meat cleavers, hammers, chains and steel poles.

"They attacked us. Now it’s our turn to attack them," a Han man in the crowd told Reuters.

Police used tear gas to disperse mobs of youths chanting "Defend the Country" while trying to get to a Uighur neighborhood. Uighurs attacked Han Chinese near the Urumqui railroad station while women protested the arrest of up to a 1,000 Uighur men.

Han Chinese neighborhoods were gripped with fear as people desperately sought out lumber or shovels to
defend themselves and bought bottled water out of concern "the Uighurs might poison the water," as one resident told the Associated Press.

The continued violence and reprisals may have been worsened by Beijing's attempt to control the message.
The government had blocked or slowed down Web traffic in the region to prevent users on sites such as Twitter and YouTube from broadcasting images and stories to the world.

The state-controlled media had mostly images and clips of Uighurs attacking Han Chinese, sparking outrage among the country's ethnic majority.