Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Top officials sacked after China protests

Updated at 10:55 am on 6 September 2009

A senior Communist Party official and a police chief in the Chinese province of Xinjiang have been sacked following days of mass protests in the city of Urumqi in which five people died.

Thousands of riot police have been deployed on the streets to try to prevent further protests by Han Chinese demonstrators.

The BBC says the demonstrations were were triggered by reports of a series of mysterious stabbings by people armed with hypodermic syringes. Many of the protesters blame Uighur Muslim separatists for the attacks.

In July, almost 200 people, mostly Han Chinese, were killed in ethnic riots which erupted after Uighurs took the streets to protest about mistreatment.

No official reason has been given for the sackings of the Urumqi Communist Party leader and Xinjiang's police chief.

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

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