BEIJING, July 9 (RIA Novosti) - China's Communist Party promised on Thursday to "severely punish" the instigators of recent deadly riots in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
At least 156 people were killed and over 1,000 injured in clashes between Uighurs and Han Chinese in the region's capital of Urumqi.
The violence started on Sunday when a group of protesters was demanding an investigation into the death of two ethnic Uighurs during a fight with Han Chinese workers in late June.
The riots forced Chinese President Hu Jintao to cut short his visit to Italy, where he was due to attend the G8 summit. The Chinese leader convened a meeting of the Communist Party late on Wednesday to discuss the unrest.
A statement released by Xinhua said: "Instigators, organizers, culprits and violent criminals in the unrest shall be severely punished in accordance with the law."
Chinese authorities earlier accused the World Uighur Congress of fomenting the riots, saying its head, Rebiya Kadeer, was orchestrating the unrest from exile in the United States.
Xinjiang's 8 million Uighurs have complained of political, cultural and religious persecution by Beijing and there have been repeated calls by the Uighur community for more autonomy, with some seeking independence from China.
