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Chinese security forces chase off protesters during a demonstration - Source: Reuters -
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Five people died in unrest this week in the far-west Chinese city of Urumqi, the deputy mayor said, after a day of protests, tear gas and unabated anger at the ruling Communist Party.
Han Chinese protesters massed for a third day in the capital of the Xinjiang region, to protest that authorities had failed to control a spate of syringe attacks and had been slow to bring to trial ethnic Uighurs charged with deadly rioting on July 5.
The demonstrations are a rare direct challenge to the government by middle class urbanites, and could inflame ethnic resentments as Beijing prepares to showcase the nation's achievements on Oct 1, the 60th anniversary of Communist rule.
Faced with deteriorating support among the majority Han Chinese, Beijing dispatched public security minister Meng Jianzhu to Urumqi, where he urged officials to "restore social order as soon as possible".
Security forces used tear gas to break up some of Friday's protests, as thousands of Han Chinese demanded better security. Troops massed to block their access to neighbourhoods home to Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people native to the energy-rich region.
Among the five dead, two had been confirmed as "innocent civilians", while police were investigating circumstances of the others' deaths, Deputy Mayor Zhang Hong, said. He would not specify the ethnic background of the dead nor how they died.
The unrest came two months after deadly ethnic riots swept the city, killing at least 197 people, most of them Han Chinese.
The government has banned "unlicensed marches, demonstrations and mass protests" and will disperse or detain those who disobey, the official Xinhua news agency said.
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