New Delhi: Thousands of security forces have been flooding into the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang region to try to end the deadly ethnic clashes. It is a crisis that has forced the Chinese president Hu Jintao to cut short his visit to the G8 Summit in Italy.
The Chinese state television said Jintao was returning due to the situation in northwest Xinjiang province that's seen one of the worst protests China has faced in a decade.
Curfew remains in place in Urumqi after violent clashes between the Muslim Uighurs and the Han Chinese. Hundreds have been injured, many more arrested. Some still don't know what happened to their relatives.
"I went to hospital but was not allowed to see him. I don't know if he is dead or alive," says a woman who says her son was wounded in the clash.
Troops are out on the streets. There's tight security to prevent any further violence.
Both Uighurs and the Han Chinese blaming each other for the violence, fuelling rumours of who's to blame.
Helicopters dropped leaflets appealing for calm. Authorities may have quelled the violence for now as they've done many times before. But there's palpable tension.