Turkic Muslims, Han Chinese claim heavy losses
Groups of ethnic Han Chinese have marched throughthe city of Urumqi carrying clubs and machetes,* as tension growsbetween ethnic groups and police.
Security forces imposed acurfew and fired tear gas to disperse the crowds, who said they wereangry at violence carried out by ethnic Muslim Uighurs.
Earlier, Uighur women had rallied against the arrest of more than 1,400 people over deadly clashes on Sunday.
The two sides blame each other for the outbreak of violence.
Officials say 156 people – mostly ethnic Han Chinese – died inSunday’s violence. Uighur groups say many more have died, claiming 90%of the dead were Uighurs.
The unrest erupted when Uighurprotesters attacked vehicles before turning on local Han Chinese andbattling security forces in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province.
*European Americans can take a lesson from the Han Chinese.