Urumqi: China has ordered mosques in its city of Urumqi to stay closed for Friday prayers.
The order comes after several days of ethnic violence between Uighur Muslims and Han Chinese. At least 156 people have been killed so far.
Thousands of troops remain in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province, to try to maintain law and order. Unofficial sources say people in Xinjiang have been told to "stay at home and pray", rather than gathering in mosques.
On Thursday, China said it had "a great deal of evidence" that the violence had Al-Qaida links.
The ethnic crisis in China even compelled country's president Hu Jintao to cut short his visit to the G8 summit in Italy.