Turkish protesters storm Thai consulate over deportation of Uygurs to China

Turkish anti-Chinese demonstrators stormed the Thai consulate in Istanbul in protest at the deportation by Bangkok of dozens of Uygur Muslims to China, as diplomatic tensions flared on Thursday in an increasingly combustible controversy.

The attack was the latest in a series of nationalist-tinted protests in Turkey during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan over China's treatment of the Turkic-speaking, largely Muslim Uygurs in the northwestern Xinjiang region.

Nine people were arrested after the action at the consulate building in Istanbul late on Wednesday organised by a group calling itself East Turkestan Education Association, the Dogan news agency reported.

They broke down the doors to the building, pulled down the sign outside and damaged the furnishings inside, television footage showed.

The Thai flag was pulled down as the building was also pelted with stones. Files were flung outside while a man was seen battering a window down with a post.

Shocked consulate workers returned to the office yesterday to find their workplace upturned, with broken glass and debris littering the floor.

Thailand said it had deported around 100 Uygur Muslims detained in the kingdom since last year to China, in a move sparking fears for their safety.