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156 of Urumqi riot deaths are innocent civilians

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-05 23:15

URUMQI: Authorities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region confirmed Wednesday that innocent civilians accounted for 156 of the 197 deaths in the Urumqi riot a month ago.    

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Hou Hanmin, spokesman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Government, said that of the 156 dead civilians, 134 are Han Chinese, 11 are of Hui ehtnicity, 10 are Uygurs, and one is from the Man ethnic group.    

Twelve others were shot while committing violence or criminal activities. The identities of the remainder deaths have yet to be determined.    

Hou also denied foreign media report that an associate professor of the ethnic Uygur at Beijing's Minzu University has been detained in connection with the Urumqi riot.    

"Further investigations show no teaching staff of ethnic Uygurs has been interrogated in connection with the Urumqi unrest on July 5," said Hou.  

According to Chen Zhuangwei, head　of the Public Security Department of　Urumqi, 718 people have been detained who are suspected of involvement in the July 5 riot, which left 197 people dead and more than 1,600 injured.  

Eighty three people had been arrested in connection with the riot, said Procurator Utiku'er Abudrehman of the People's Procuratorate of Urumqi City Tuesday.