Beijing: The worst communal carnage in China's history was not a spontaneous riot but a "well-planned criminal incident of terrorist nature," China's official media has claimed even as the region's top official said that 12 people were shot dead by police during the unrest.
Analysing the "salient feature of the riot," a report by the state-run Xinhua news agency said that mass of evidences gathered in the July 5 ethnic violence between Uygur Muslims and the Han Chinese suggests it was planned in advance and conducted by people mostly from outside Urumqi.
"If there were no plan or organising in advance, how could so many people appear in more than 50 places at the same time with the same violent behaviors?" an expert on public security was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The local public security department claimed that several official buildings including the public security department and media organisations came under attack indicating that the riot was not a simple violent incident.
Meanwhile, Nur Bekri, chairman of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said while three of the 12 shot died on the spot, nine died after failing treatment.
Bekri admitted that authorities had not expected that a student parade could turn into such ferocious violence, in which a total of 192 people died.
Meanwhile, the Xinhua report said the unrest was incited by people from outside Urumqi and quoted some businessmen as claiming that sale of knives went up two or three days before the unrest.
"The perpetrators adopted the tactic of mass rally and making trouble in the open, which attracted people's attention and police force, while committing beating, smashing, robbery and arsons in other places," it said.
China has blamed Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent exiled Uygur activist, for inciting the recent unrest, a charge denied by her.
The violence started after protesting ethnic Uygurs went on rampage, smashing vehicles and clashing with the police and the Han Chinese. The riot led to the killing of 192 people and injuring over a thousand.
The unrest that shook China prompted a massive police crackdown in the Xinjiang region where nearly 1400 people were arrested, including over 300 women.
Days after the initial violence groups of the majority Han Chinese armed with knives and sticks went about the city attacking the Uygurs.
The initial protest was centered on calls for a probe into the June 25 deaths of Uighur factory workers killed in a brawl with Han Chinese in southern China.