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Six arrested, 89 surrender to police in township attack

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-22 15:10

XINING - Police have arrested six and 89 others surrendered after a riot involving more than 100 people in northwest China's Qinghai Province Saturday, authorities said Sunday.

Several hundred people, including nearly 100 monks from the Ragya Monastery, attacked the police station of Ragya Township of Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Golog on Saturday afternoon. They also assaulted policemen and government staff. Some of government staff were slightly injured.

Related readings:  Township government in NW China attacked

Most of the people dispersed at 5 p.m. Saturday and some 30 others were persuaded to leave in the early hours of Sunday, Golog prefectural authorities said.

As of 9 a.m. Sunday, police have arrested six participants in the attack. Eighty-nine surrendered to police. All but two of the 95 were monks in the Ragya Monastery.

Police said the people were deceived by rumors about Zhaxi Sangwu, who had escaped from the police station in Gyala Township on Saturday afternoon and went missing.

Zhaxi Sangwu was under investigation on Friday for being involved in advocating "Tibet independence," the police said. He managed to run away from the police station on the excuse of using the bathroom. The man remains missing.

Search for the monks who joined the attack and ran away continued, according to Ju Kezhong, a Golog official.

The social order of the Ragya area has been restored, said the official.

Police are interrogating the suspects.