China's Pres. Hu Leaves G8 Summit Amid Xinjiang Unrest

President Hu Jintao cut short his meeting with other G8 leaders in Italy because of the ethnic unrest in Xinjiang Province, western China that has left at least 156 dead and more than 1,000 injured.

The capital of Xinjiang, Urumqi, continues to be tense and chaotic, despite the deployment of thousands of police and military. Anti-riot forces are trying to keep ethnic Chinese and Uighur residents separated.

On Tuesday, mobs of Han Chinese armed with sticks, knives and makeshift weapons roamed the streets of Urumqi, searching for Uighurs. Meanwhile, hundreds of Uighur women and older men confronted riot-control troops, demanding the return of their sons and husbands who have been detained in security sweeps.

How many of the dead came from each ethnic group is not clear. The government states that most of those killed were Han Chinese, while Uighur exile groups claim that about 90 of the dead were Uighurs.

The Communist Party boss in Urumqi, Li Zhi, says that anyone found guilty of participating in the killings will be executed.

Photo by Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images.