China executes nine for Urumqi riots

URUMQI, China, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- China has executed nine people convicted of fueling ethnic riots in the predominantly Muslim city of Urumqi, Xinjiang province, authorities said.

Members of the Uighur minority rampaged through the city July 5, burning and stabbing Han Chinese. Two days later, Han Chinese retaliated by attacking Uighur residents in the streets of Urumqui.

It was not publicly known how many of those executed were Uighur and how many were Han Chinese, The Times of London reported Monday. The government released no details about when the nine were executed or how they were killed.

In all, nearly 200 people died and another 1,700 were injured in the several days of rioting, sparked by Uighur resentment of Beijing rule and and the influx of a large number of Han Chinese to the area.