Civilians, 1 police officer killed in Xinjiang unrest

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Unrest took place in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at about 7 p.m. local time on Sunday.

Sources from the regional government said the unrest led to the death of a number of civilians and one armed police officer as of 11 p.m. on Sunday. During the unrest in several downtown places some ordinary people and armed police officers were also injured while many motor vehicles and shops were smashed or burned.

The local government said initial investigation showed the World Uyghur Congress led by Rebiya Kadeer has recently been instigating unrest via the Internet among other means calling on the outlaws "to be braver" and "to do something big".

A statement the local government issued on Monday says "the unrest was a preempted, organized violent crime. It was instigated and directed from abroad, and carried out by outlaws in the country. The CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regional Committee and the regional government think highly of the event and deployed police forces in time to deal with the unrest. The situation is now under control.