83 face charges for Urumqi riot

Eighty three suspects, including Uygurs and Han, are now facing charges in connection with the Urumqi riot on July 5 according to authorities in Urumqi. The riots left 197 people dead and injured 1,600.

The 83 arrested are facing charges of intentional homicide, intentional injury, arson, robbery, damaging vehicles, disrupting the social order, causing disturbances, instigating ethnic hatred as well as ethic discrimination, said the chief procurator of Urumqi People's Procuratorate on Tuesday.

The 83 suspect is just the first batch of arrested people. In total, 718 people have been detained in connection with the Urumqi riot, said Chen Zhuangwei, head of the Public Security Bureau of Urumqi.

However, according to previous figures released by the authority, more than 1,500 had been detained since the riot. Chen didn't mention the number of suspects who have been released.

The current situation in Urumqi is fairly stable due to efforts over the past weeks to cope with the riots. However, some instability still exists and during the beginning of the week China's anti-terrorism sources said police forces and state security agencies have prevented five organized terrorist attacks on civilians in the autonomous region.