Sporadic standoffs reported in Urumqi

URUMQI, China, July 8 (UPI) -- Urumqi, China, under heavy security after deadly ethnic riots, was mostly calm Thursday but for sporadic standoffs and minor clashes, officials said.

The capital of China's northwest Xinjiang-Uighur region, where tensions have simmered between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese for years, exploded into ethnic violence Sunday, leaving at least 156 dead and more than 1,000 injured.

To restore calm in the city, China Wednesday brought in an additional 20,000 security troops even as thousands of residents fled to escape the violence, The Washington Post reported.

China Daily reported helicopters dropped leaflets appealing for calm in the city of 2.3 million people as helmeted paramilitary troops in riot gear stood guard. Armed personnel carriers were deployed as the city was put under overnight traffic curfew.

Meng Jianzhu, state councilor and public security minister, called for extreme severe punishment for those who led the riots, the Daily reported. He also said those who were provoked or misled by separatists, should be re-educated.

Li Zhi, chief of the Communist Party in Urqumi, told a news conference the government will seek the death penalty for those found to be responsible for the killings.

The government so far had arrested more than 1,400 people. Li said many people accused of murder had already been detained and that most were students, China Daily reported.

Urumqi Mayor Jerla Isamudin said more than 100 of the dead people had so far been identified through DNA tests and promised to provide compensation for the families of the dead.

The report said Urumqi airport was crowded with people anxious to leave and those who couldn't buy an air ticket decided to stay in hotels.

Chinese authorities have accused exiled World Uighur Congress and its leader Rebia Kadeer of masterminding the riots. The group, based in Munich, Germany, has denied the charge and condemned what it said was a Chinese crackdown on its people.

The official Chinese news agency Xinhua ran a lengthy article on what it said was evidence to support the charge against WUC and Kadeer.