Unrest in Xinjiang

A protest about a brawl became China's bloodiest incident of Civil unrest since the Tiananmen Square massacre 20 years ago.
The ethnic Uighurs (a mostly Muslim Turkic minority group) in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province, accused Han Chinese factory workers in another province (Guangdong) of racial violence against Uighur co-workers and vented their anger against Han Chinese retaliated before the troops restored order. About 200  persons were dead and hundreds more injured. This was reminiscent of rioting in Lhasa in Tibet in 2008 that triggered unrest by the Tibetan Buddhists across the Tibetan plateau.

The Uighurs have long complained of discrimination by the Han Chinese and the government. The Government dismissing the allegations blamed the unrest on the separatists led by the US-based exiled leader Rebiya Kadeer. Kadeer who one of Xinjiang's wealthiest persons and spent six years in prison on security charges. The government also blamed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement for the riots.

New unrest broke out in Xinjiang in September as thousands of Han Chinese demonstrators took to the streets in Urumqi to protest against the deteriorating public safety. This followed reported syringe stabbing attacks on several people in the city. The police fired tear gas when protesters confronted them near the city headquarters of China's ruling Communist Party.