Riots Engulf Chinese City as Ethnic Tension Grows

Groups of ethnic Han Chinese have marched through the city of Urumqi carrying clubs and machetes, as tension grows between ethnic groups and police.

Security forces fired tear gas to disperse the Chinese, who said they were protesting against violence carried out by ethnic Muslim Uighurs, the BBC reported.

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 in Sunday's violence that erupted when Uighur protesters attacked vehicles before turning on local Han Chinese and battling security forces in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province.

Uighur groups say many more have died, claiming 90% of the dead were Uighurs.

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