China to Issue Arrest Warrants for Xinjiang Riots

A Uighur ethnic minority butcher waits for customers at his meat stall in the streets of Urumqi,...

A Uighur ethnic minority butcher waits for customers at his meat stall in the streets of Urumqi, China, Thursday, July 16, 2009. Security in Urumqi remained tight as some roads leading to the Grand Bazaar market remained closed, while clusters of security officers stood guard in corners and platoons of paramilitary police patrolled the streets. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)

(AP)

Authorities have completed an initial investigation into ethnic riots that left 192 people dead in China's restive Western region and arrest warrants will be issued soon, the chief prosecutor for Xinjiang said.

Chinese authorities also got more aggressive in blocking foreign media from working in the streets of Urumqi, the regional capital where the July 5 riots occurred.

Authorities have been adamant that foreign photographers not shoot pictures of the thousands of security forces guarding the city. On Friday, police told three foreign photographers in a Uighur neighborhood that they were not allowed to take photos of Uighurs or security forces and ordered them to leave the area.

Security forces on Thursday even demanded that a group of journalists stop taking photos of a camel and a man who was playing a traditional string instrument near the main bazaar, a major tourist site, because troops were nearby.

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The tense atmosphere follows the worst ethnic violence in the western region of Xinjiang in decades. The unrest began when a July 5 protest by Muslim Uighurs spiraled into violence against Han Chinese, the nation's ethnic majority.

Rioters roamed the streets, beating people, smashing windows and burning cars. In subsequent days, groups of Han Chinese launched revenge attacks. The city has been relatively peaceful in the past week amid extremely tight security.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that 192 people died, 1,721 were wounded and 881 people were still in hospitals. A total of 331 shops and 627 vehicles were burned in the unrest.

On Thursday, chief prosecutor Hamsi Mamuti said the first group of suspects had been identified, according to Xinhua.

"The arrest warrants will be issued soon. The violent elements will be severely punished according to the law," he was quoted as saying. "The entire process will be strictly based on the law."

The report did not say how many would be arrested, but Li Zhi, the highest-ranking Communist Party official in Urumqi (pronounced uh-ROOM-chee), said last week that those found guilty of the most serious crimes could be executed. He added that many of the rioters didn't understand what they were doing and would be treated leniently.