Posted on 02/18/2009 12:53:32 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
2,000 police putdown riotin Hebei Muslim-Han clash injures 100 people
Minnie Chan
South China Morning Post
(c) 2009 South China Morning Post Publishers Limited, Hong Kong. All rights reserved.
About 2,000 armed police were sent to a Hebei province town to put down a riot in which hundreds of Muslims clashed with Han Chinese, officials and a rights group said yesterday.
A spokeswoman for the government of Mengcun Hui Muslim Autonomous County, 250km southwest of Beijing, confirmed an incident had taken place a week ago in Niujinzhuang township, where 10,000 Hui Muslims live in a village of the same name and 20,000 Han Chinese reside in neighbouring Gengzhuangzi village.
"The conflict has been calmed down {hellip} all problems are solved," the spokeswoman said. "Many officials and ethnic experts sent by the county government are staying in the villages to calm the villagers' feelings."
She refused to give details but said that no one had been injured.
An officer from the Niujinzhuang police station confirmed the incident but said it was "not convenient" to answer questions.
The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said about 100 people were injured in the conflict, with four severely hurt.
The dispute was sparked by a brawl between children of the Han and Hui ethnicities during a fireworks display last Monday to mark the Lantern Festival, it said.
The quarrel escalated into a massive clash the next day involving thousands of people from the two neighbouring villages, it said.
The riot was stopped after the county deployed 2,000 armed police officers, the centre said. More than 500 armed police were still patrolling the main roads connecting the villages to prevent further clashes.
(Excerpt) Read more at hkhkhk.com ...
The Site Name: Information Center for Human Right & Democracy
Ping!
bump
TLR - Thanks for the heads-up on news such as this about interior PRC goings on.
Muslims involved in violence? It’s so hard to believe—NOT.
This will probably be a very useful source, this year.
Commies fighting muzzies — I think I’ll cook some popcorn.
Thanks for the ping.
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