At least four people died when a mob attacked a police station in western China's restive Xinjiang, taking hostages and setting it on fire, state media said today, though an exile group said the incident started when police fired on protesters.
Two hostages, a paramilitary policeman and a guard died in the violence, as well as several of the attackers, state television reported. Six hostages were freed.
The situation has now been bought "under control", it said, and a team from the state anti-terrorism office was on its way to the scene. The attack took place in the city of Hotan.
The Xinjiang government was not immediately available for comment.
Dilxat Raxit of the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress said residents in Hotan had told his group that police opened fire on a peaceful protest, leading to fighting between the two sides.
"The people cannot stand the government's repression any longer," he said by telephone. Reuters was not able to independently verify his account.
Beijing often blames what it calls violent separatist groups in Xinjiang for attacks on police or other government targets, saying they work with al Qaeda or Central Asian militants to bring about an independent state called East Turkestan.
Last August, seven Chinese military police were killed when a member of the Uighur minority rammed them with an explosives-laden vehicle in the Xinjiang border region.
Many Uighurs - a Muslim, Turkic-speaking people native to the region - chafe under rule from Beijing and restrictions on their language, culture and religion.
They now make up less than half of Xinjiang's population after decades of immigration by the majority Han from other parts of China.
In July 2009, Xinjiang's capital Urumqi was rocked by violence between majority Han Chinese and minority Uighurs that killed nearly 200 people.
Since then, China has executed nine people it blamed for instigating the riots, detained and prosecuted hundreds of others and ramped up spending on security, according to state media and overseas rights group.
Reuters