China sentences five to death over riots

officials have said most of the victims were members of China’s majority Han ethnic group who were attacked by ethnic Uighurs.

Reports suggest that the five sentenced to death were Uighurs – members of a Turkic minority in China that calls Xinjiang their homeland.

Ethnic tensions exploded on July 5 as Uighurs in Urumqi protested over clashes at a factory in southern China that had left two Uighurs dead.

Shops were smashed and vehicles set alight, with passers-by being set upon by Uighur rioters.

Two days later, groups of Han went looking for revenge as police struggled to restore order.

Officials said 197 people were killed and about 1,700 people injured in the rioting.