Xinjiang under heavy security year after riots

TEAMS of police armed with guns and batons patrolled streets in the western region of Xinjiang at the weekend, part of stringent security precautions put in place ahead of the one-year anniversary of China's worst ethnic violence in decades.

Though visitors were able to travel freely in the traditionally Muslim region, their bags were checked at airports, train stations and bus stops. Swat teams were patrolling the streets of the capital Urumqi in groups of about ten, many of them armed.

Long-standing tensions between Xinjiang's minority Uighurs and majority Han Chinese migrants flared into violence in Urumqi one year ago. The government said 197 people were killed in the unrest, which was triggered by the deaths of Uighur factory workers in the country's south.

After the 5 July bloodshed, the government suspended the region's internet and international telephone and text messaging links for more than half a year. Beijing arrested hundreds of people and sentenced about two-dozen to death.

Rights groups said Uighurs who fled China reported excessive use of force, mass arrests, disappearances and ill treatment in detention.

"China's leaders say all ethnic groups are treated equally and point to the billions of dollars in investment that has modernised Xinjiang, a strategically vital region with significant oil and gas deposits.