Chinese Riot City Leader Sacked

The Communist Party chief of the troubled western Chinese city of Urumqi has been sacked, the official Xinhua news agency says.

No official reason was given for the dismissal of Li Zhi.

It follows days of ethnic unrest in Urumqi, capital of Uyghuristann, in which at least five people have died.

The protests came after a spate of stabbings with syringes blamed on Uighur Muslim separatists. Unrest in Urumqi in July left nearly 200 dead.

Li Zhi is to be replaced by Zhu Hailun, the head of Xinjiang region's law-and-order committee, the Xinhua report said.



The statement added that there had also been a leadership change in the Uyghur Autonomous Regional Public Security Department, but gave no details.

Correspondents say that protesters who have marched in their thousands through Urumqi in recent days have demanded Mr Li's dismissal for failing to provide public safety.

The BBC's Michael Bristow in Urumqi says the sacking is unusual as it shows the Chinese authorities believe they may have made mistakes in the handling of the unrest.

Tight security

Security in Urumqi has been tight this week, after thousands of Han Chinese demonstrated over the alleged hypodermic syringe stabbings.

In fresh unrest on Saturday, angry Han Chinese rushed to the city's main square following reports that three Uighur men had attacked a child with needles.


Police took away a boy allegedly stabbed with a needle in Urumqi on Saturday
Video of the incident showed police driving the boy away and the crowd being dispersed.

China's top security official, Meng Jianzhu, arrived in the city on Friday to try to restore order.

He was quoted by Xinhua as saying the syringe attacks were a continuation of the July unrest in which 200 people - mostly Han Chinese - were killed in ethnic riots.

Uyghuristan's population is evenly split between Uighurs and Han Chinese - the country's majority ethnic group. But Hans make up three-quarters of Urumqi's population.

Tension between the Uighur and Han communities has been simmering for many years, but July's ethnic unrest was the worst for decades.

It began when crowds of Uighurs took the streets to protest about mistreatment - but their rally spiralled out of control and days of violent clashes followed.


Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8239591.stm