Local government officals ordered several major mosques in the Chinese city of Urumqi, in Xianjing province to close 10 July. Thousands of troops are maintaining an armed presence in the city after riots by Uighur residents five days ago and subsequent revenge attacks by the Han Chinese left 156 people dead and over a thousand injured. Many smaller mosques in predominantly Uighur neighbourhoods have opened. Friday is the holy day for the Uighurs, who are Sunni Muslim and represent about 45 percent of the region’s population after heavy immigration by Han Chinese since the 1950s.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.