Columns of troops pour into China's restive west

URUMQI, China – Hundreds of helmeted troops in riot gear swarmed the central square of the capital of western Xinjiang on Wednesday after ethnic riots left at least 156 dead. The city's Communist Party boss promised those behind the killings would be executed.
Ethnic clashes have paralyzed Urumqi over the past several days — with minority Uighur and Han Chinese mobs roaming the streets and attacking each other. The violence forced President Hu Jintao to embarrassingly cut short a trip to Italy where he was take part in a Group of Eight summit.
The government further responded Wednesday to the violence by pouring columns of troops into the far-flung province, hundreds of which were stationed in People's Square in the middle of the city.
Communist Party chief Li Zhi told a televised news conference that many people had been arrested, including students.
"To those who committed crimes with cruel means, we will execute them," he said, adding government forces would crack down on any security risk. He did not give details.
More than 1,100 people were wounded in the violence, and hundreds of vehicles were damaged or set on fire in the riots on Sunday. It was not known how many Uiqhurs (pronounced WEE-gers) and Han Chinese died or who was behind their deaths.
Li would not say how many of the 156 dead were Han — the majority ethnicity in China — and how many were Uiqhurs — a largely Muslim minority — even though more than 100 of them have been identified and handed over to their families.
He said both groups were responsible for the violence. "The small groups of the violent people have already been caught by police. The situation is now under control."
China's top police officer also vowed there would no leniency for those who took part in the violence in Urumqi (pronounced uh-ROOM-chee).
Public Security Minister Meng Jiangzhu was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency that "key rioters should be punished with the utmost severity."
Meng repeated the government's accusations that the riot was masterminded by overseas separatist groups. China has specifically accused U.S.-exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer and her overseas followers of being behind the violence. She has denied the allegations, and accused China of inciting the violence among Urumqi's 2.3 million residents.
Hu arrived home Wednesday "due to the situation" in Xinjiang, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It did not say what action he would take.
At the Urumqi People's Hospital, a newlywed who was attacked said she does not know what happened to her husband.
"He must be unconscious. ... They have been searching the urgent care wards but have not found him yet," said Dong Yuanyuan.
Dong was leaving for her honeymoon with her husband on Sunday when they were dragged off a bus and beaten unconscious.
An air of chaos still permeated the city Wednesday, with swarms of police and paramilitary troops patrolling the streets where armed Han Chinese men also wandered in groups. About 50 Han Chinese, many carrying metal rods, shouted and harassed a foreign reporter who walked by and would not let another journalist with a video camera film the scene.
In a Uighur neighborhood, people carried rocks and makeshift weapons — a knife attached to the end of a wooden stick in one instance — stood guard in groups.
Uighurs say the riots that started Sunday — put down by volleys of tear gas and a massive show of force — were triggered by the late June deaths of Uighur factory workers during a brawl in the southern Chinese city of Shaoguan. State-run media have said two workers died, but many Uighurs believe more were killed and said the incident was an example of how little the government cared about them.
Chinese authorities have been trying to control the unrest by blocking the Internet, including social networking sites such as Facebook, and limiting access to texting services on cell phones. At the same time, police have generally been allowing foreign media to cover the tensions.
On Wednesday, workers in Internet cafes in two other Xinjiang cities, Turpan and Kashgar, said Internet connections had been cut.
"The police came to us and told us to shut down our Internet cafe for the next three days, but who knows how long this will last," said the manger of the Huo Zhou Internet cafe in Turpan. He would give only his surname, Pei.
An operator with China Mobile's service center in Xinjiang, who refused to give her name, said all the services for cell phones, except making and receiving calls, had been suspended, including sending and receiving text messages — one of the major ways Twitter messages are distributed.
Concerns about what was happening in Xinjiang have even extended to Beijing. A female clerk at the Furong Hotel, a two-star hotel, said they received a notice from local police branch Tuesday asking them to report to the police if they received any Uighurs or Tibetans. She said there were no orders not to receive them as guests.