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China embassy in Netherlands attacked by separatist supporters

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-07 14:37

BRUSSELS: The Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands was attacked and partly damaged on Monday by supporters of separatists in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to news reaching here from The Hague.

About 150 Xinjiang separatist supporters began to gather outside the Chinese Embassy at around 12:30 pm local time, according to officials of the embassy.

The demonstrators then started burning Chinese national flags and tossing bricks and stones they brought along, breaking almost all glass windows of one embassy building facing the street.

The violence also left the roofs, walls of the embassy buildings as well as the embassy facia damaged in varying degrees.

Dozens of the demonstrators were arrested by the Holland police, according to local radio.

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Zhang Daxing, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands, is to make a representation Tuesday with Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen on the matter as the Chinese Embassy had warned about possible riots and asked for police reinforcement.

An unrest broke out on Sunday in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, leaving at least 156 dead and more than 1,000 others injured.

In a televised speech Monday morning, Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang autonomous regional government, said three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism made use of a fight between Uygur and Han ethnic workers in a toy factory in southern Guangdong Province on June 26, in which two Uygur workers died, to create chaos.