9 July : Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has his expressed concern over the "worsening situation" in China in the wake of worst-every communal clashes there and asked Beijing to exercise "restraint" indealing with the crisis."I am deeply saddened and concerned with the worsening situation in East Turkestan (Xinjiang), especially with tragic loss of lives," he said in a statement. The spiritual leader, who has been demanding greater autonomy for Tibet, said the crisis needs to be dealt with in a spirit of understanding and farsightedness.
"I earnestly urge the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with the situation in a spirit of
understanding and farsightedness," he said on Wednesday.
He offered prayers for those who lost their lives by the "sad turn of events".
President Hu Jintao had to cut short his visit to Italy for the G-8 Summit as Uyghur Muslims and Han Chinese settlers fought pitched street battles prompting the government to deploy more troops in the restive northwest
region to stem the violence.
While Chinese officials claimed that the massive riots had left 156 dead, exiled Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer put the toll as high as 500.
Ethnic unrest continues unabated in China's Xinjiang
The worst-ever ethnic clashes to hit Communist China continued unabated on Wednesday as more people were injured as Uyghur Muslims and Han Chinese settlers fought pitched street battles as the government poured in Army troops into the restive northwest region to stem the violence.
Though the Chinese officials claimed that the massive riots had left 156 dead, exiled Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer put the toll as high as 500.
Thousands of Han Chinese and local Uyghurs armed with makeshift weapons were locked in a tense standoff as thousands of Chinese troops armed with automatic weapons and batons struggled to keep them apart.
The scale of the ethnic clashes forced Chinese President Hu Jintao to cut-short his official visit to Italy for the G-8 summit and rush back home, Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Authorities clamped 24 hours curfew in this provincial capital of Xinjiang as the government warned that violators would be executed, but warnings had little impact as groups of Uyghur Muslims and Han Chinese armed with iron-rods, pipes and make-shift weapons fought in street corners.
In fresh incidents, roaming groups of Han Chinese targeted Uyghurs injuring two of them as Army helicopters flew overhead dropping leaflets calling for peace.