Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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July 19, 2009

China: Police Shot Dead 12 Uighur Protesters
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2571FD0:A6F02AD83191E160DB7D7F776F1F84B33CF5CDEF8FC051DA&
 
Xinjiang's governor says three Uighurs died on the spot and nine died on
the way to a hospital in a rare acknowledgment by a Chinese official
 
The Chinese government says security forces shot dead 12 ethnic Uighurs
during the deadly July 5 riots in the capital of western Xinjiang
region. Xinjiang's governor, Nuer Baikeli, told reporters that three
Uighurs died on the spot and nine died on the way to a hospital, or
during hospital treatment. Such acknowlegments by Chinese officials are
rare. Uighur ethnic minority man puts on his prosthetic leg as Chinese
Paramilitary police patrol a street in Urumqi, China, 16 Jul 2009State
media Sunday quoted Baikeli who said the action was taken to prevent
further bloodshed. He said that in any country ruled by law, the use of
force is necessary to protect the interest of people or prevent violent
crime. Chinese officials earlier said that 197 people died in the ethnic
clashes between the Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese in the Urumqi
violence, and that more than 1,600 people were injured. Authorities did
not give the ethnic breakdown, but said most of those killed were Han
Chinese. Uighur activists have disputed the official figures, saying
that hundreds of people were killed and that most of them were Uighurs.
The Uighurs, a mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking people, make up nearly half
of Xinjiang's 20 million population. Uighurs have complained for years
of being marginalized due to the influx of Han Chinese, China's dominant
ethnic group. Some information for this report was provided by AFP and
Reuters. 


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