Security tight as mosques open in China's Urumqi

[Coventina]

Source: AFP

URUMQI, China — Security forces armed with automatic weapons and wooden clubs fanned out in China's restive Urumqi city Friday as worshippers descended on mosques for the main Muslim day of prayer.

Muslim Uighurs heading to prayers had to pass rows of security forces, an AFP reporter witnessed, as Chinese authorities sought to prevent any repeat of the ethnic bloodshed that has blighted the city in recent weeks.

Many mosques were closed on Friday last week for the first main prayer day following unrest that broke out in the capital of China's Xinjiang region on July 5 and left at least 192 people dead.

The city's White Mosque in the Uighur district overflowed with worshippers, with many lining up prayer mats on the sidewalk outside, while around 200 paramilitary forces watched from across the road.



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