Armed clashes between police and Uyghurs in the southern city of Hotan have left at least eight people dead, police sources said.The authorities had sealed off all major routes into the county following the incident, and thrown a security cordon around the hospital where the dead and injured were taken.The word on the ground is that the number of deaths and injuries is greater than China is announcing publicly.Some people are saying nine people died, some 10.
Xinjiang authorities have stepped up security checks on citizens in recent weeks, detaining at least five ethnic minority Uyghurs for possession of material deemed subversive by Beijing, according to the World Uyghur Congress.
The tightened measures had begun last week in the regional capital Urumqi, but had also been reported in the south of the region, where police were carrying out house searches in the middle of the night.