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Police move in after body found in bushes

Will Clem

The massive security in Urumqi yesterday failed to ensure absolute safety in the city.

Separate sources confirmed that the body of one Han Chinese had been found yesterday morning in a residential community close to the centre of the Xinjiang capital.

This was the first confirmed death since an official toll of 156 was announced on Monday night.

There was no indication that the murder was linked to the spate of ethnic violence that has rocked the region this week, but it demonstrates that the estimated 10,000 riot police and soldiers in the city are not enough to provide complete security.

A man in his 60s living at the Shen Shi Jia Yuan - which literally means Home of Prosperity - at Nan Liang Po in west central Urumqi, said a road sweeper had discovered the body in bushes at about 8am yesterday.

The man, who asked not to be identified, said he saw the body being removed in the morning. His story was corroborated by the female owner of a nearby restaurant.

She said police arrived shortly after the body was reported and sealed off roads, adding she was so scared she immediately pulled down the shutters of her restaurant.

'It was so far beyond my expectations that I was compelled to shut my shop, having reopened it three days after the killings on Sunday,' she said.

A fruit vendor on the same street said he was about 20 metres from the scene when the corpse was pulled from beneath the bushes.

Other residents said dozens of armed police had been patrolling the streets in the area since the discovery of the body.

The city swarmed with thousands of riot police and soldiers, as military helicopters circled overhead, often flying low with sirens blaring.

The city put on an immense show of force in the early evening, massing the bulk of the security forces in Renmin Square, where they were addressed by Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang . At 6.30pm the square echoed to the sound of marching feet as troops dispersed in perfect formation to stations around the city.

Pedestrians crammed onto the pavements to watch row after row of troops in green camouflage and riot police in black body armour file out of the square. Most watched in silence or took photographs, but one or two Han spectators cheered them on. 'Comrades, you're having a tough time. We support you,' called out one middle-aged man.

Elsewhere in the city, security forces were engaged in the hunt for suspects related to the ethnic violence of previous days, with reports of at least six arrests.

A South China Morning Post reporter witnessed a large police squad raiding the predominantly Uygur district of Saimachang before being ordered to cease filming and leave the area.

Shortly before 6pm, at least 100 special police dressed in full riot gear, and supported by two armoured personnel carriers, marched into the back streets close to where two car showrooms had been attacked with petrol bombs.

'They look like aliens,' said one young Uygur boy looking after a drinks stall as the police arrived.

Local residents later reported that they had been ordered to switch off their electricity for more than 30 minutes but had received no explanation of the nature of the raid.

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