Axe-wielding rioters, cops clash

2008-11-19 11:52

Beijing - Security forces in northwest China used tear gas to quell two days of violent protests by thousands of people who used axes, chains and iron bars to attack police, witnesses and officials said on Wednesday.

At least 60 people, including police and officials, were injured during the riots, according to a statement on the government website of Longnan city in Gansu province where the violence occurred.

"Protesters used iron rods, chains, axes, hoes... to attack officials and policemen at close proximity," the statement said.

They also threw stones, bricks and flowers pots at the officials and police in front of the local government building, according to the statement.

A receptionist at a Longnan hotel near the government headquarters said there were no demonstrations on Wednesday because of an extremely heavy security presence.

"But yesterday there were a lot of people. Police used tear gas to disperse them," she told AFP by phone.

"We're not far from the government building, and although we closed our door, the smell of gas still came into our hotel. I heard a lot of people were hurt."

According to the local government's statement, the protest began on Monday with about 30 people whose houses had been demolished to make way for a new government building in a different part of town.

China's official Xinhua news agency reported that the protest swelled to around 2 000 people on Tuesday, with demonstrators smashing windows of the government building and nearby cars.

But a local policeman, who asked not be named for fear of retaliation, told AFP by phone that many thousands of people had joined the protest at its height on Tuesday.

"Yesterday the government brought in thousands of armed police who used tear gas and truncheons to disperse the crowds, and a lot of people were beaten," he said by phone.

"Some people in the crowd threw stones, so both sides sustained injuries."

Xinhua said the situation was back under control by Tuesday evening, after all the main streets and crossroads had been locked down and people dispersed.

Protests are common in China, often fuelled by government-backed land grabs or abuses of power.

- AFP