The July 2009 Ürümqi riots were a series of violent
riots over several days that broke out on 5 July 2009 in Ürümqi, the capital
city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), in northwestern People's
Republic of China (PRC). The first day's rioting, which involved at least 1,000
Uyghurs, began as a protest but escalated into violent attacks that mainly
targeted Han ("ethnic Chinese") people. People's Armed Police were
deployed, and two days later hundreds of Han people clashed with both police
and Uyghurs. PRC officials said that a total of 197 people died, with 1,721
others injured and many vehicles and buildings destroyed; on the other hand,
Uyghur exile groups say the death toll is higher. Many men disappeared during
wide-scale police sweeps in the days following the riots; Human Rights Watch
(HRW) documented 43 cases and said figures for real disappearances were
likely to be much higher