Two villagers die in clash over mosque's demolition

At least two members of the Hui ethnic minority in Ningxia have died in clashes between more than 100 protesting Muslims and hundreds of armed police officers when a new mosque was demolished by the authorities on Friday, a resident said.

Jin Haitao , who lives in Taoshan village, in the town of Hexi in Tongxin county, said yesterday his grandmother, Yang Maiyan, 80, died at the scene and a cousin, Jin Hage, 19, was declared dead at a hospital after being attacked by men in uniform.

He said hundreds of officers, armed with guns, truncheons and knives surrounded the mosque on Friday afternoon.

'When the police attempted to knock down the newly built mosque, they were met with vigorous resistance from more than 100 villagers wielding clubs and shovels,' he said.

Police fired tear gas and used water cannon to force people from the mosque and disperse them before attacking them with truncheons and knives, Jin said.

A Hexi police officer confirmed the violence but said he did not know if anyone had died. Tensions were still high but the police had withdrawn.

He said those involved in building the mosque were linked to shadowy Islamic groups from the provinces of Yunnan , Gansu and Xinjiang and that the building had not been properly approved.