Violence Erupts in China as Police Knock Down Mosque

Mosques called “illegal” place of worship, might become centers for anti-government agitation. (Indeed. –Ed.)

Fighting broke out between crowds of Muslims and police when a mosque was demolished – for being an ‘illegal religious place’.

Violence erupted in the town of Hexi, in China’s northwest Ningxia region, after 1,000 officers arrived to help police the knocking down of the building.

More than 50 protesters were injured and 100 arrested after several hundred members of China’s Muslim Hui minority tried to stop the demolition.

Sources from the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy.  said two people died in the clashes.

An employee who answered the phone at the town police station confirmed officers had fought with protesters and said 80 people were detained, but denied any deaths.

The employee added that police demolished the mosque after the violence.

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2012-01-03