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China in bid to cover up ethnic unrest

China in bid to cover up ethnic unrest

ZHENGZHOU – Deadly ethnic clashes between Hui Muslims and Han Chinese in central China were met yesterday with a military blockade and a news blackout as officials attempted to curb the unrest and cover it up.

Despite the heavy presence of paramilitary police in Zhongmou, the rural county in Henan province where at least seven people were killed and possibly many more, local residents remained uneasy. “We don’t dare go out in the fields to work,” said a peasant woman in Nanren village, which is mainly Muslim and has been a flashpoint in the riots that began on Thursday and were only controlled on Sunday.Farmers from Nanren clashed with their neighbours in Nanwei, which is mostly Han Chinese, after tempers flared over a traffic dispute.As well as the seven dead, 42 were injured, state-run Xinhua news agency said.Locals disputed the official toll, saying as many as 20 had lost their lives as ethnic animosities flared across this county of ricefields fed by the waters of the Yellow River.Eighteen people were arrested, according to Xinhua, which carried a brief report only on its English-language service.- Nampa-AFP”We don’t dare go out in the fields to work,” said a peasant woman in Nanren village, which is mainly Muslim and has been a flashpoint in the riots that began on Thursday and were only controlled on Sunday.Farmers from Nanren clashed with their neighbours in Nanwei, which is mostly Han Chinese, after tempers flared over a traffic dispute.As well as the seven dead, 42 were injured, state-run Xinhua news agency said.Locals disputed the official toll, saying as many as 20 had lost their lives as ethnic animosities flared across this county of ricefields fed by the waters of the Yellow River.Eighteen people were arrested, according to Xinhua, which carried a brief report only on its English-language service.- Nampa-AFP

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