Beijing: Chinese policemen had shot dead 12 people during the July 5 unrest in Urumqi in the communist state`s restive region of Xinjiang, after firing guns into the air failed to have any effects on them, the state media said on Sunday.
Three of them died on the spot while nine died after failing treatment, Nur Bekri, chairman of northwest China`s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua newsagency.
Bekri admitted that they had not expected that a student parade could turn into such ferocious violence, in which a total of 197 people died, "most of them were innocent residents".
"The police showed as much restraint as possible during the unrest. Many of them were injured and a 31-year-old officer was killed. He was hit by mobsters in the head with a stone," the official said.
He expressed hope that Xinjiang has the confidence to erase the negative impacts of the July 5 riot "in the shortest time".
The local situation is becoming more stable, "it won`t be long" before the Internet was completely reopened to the public, he said, adding during the riot, the Internet and cell phone messages became the main communication methods for mobsters, and it was necessary for the government to shut down the Internet to stabilise people`s emotions and restore social order.
Bureau Report
