Originally published Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 12:00 AM

China warns rioters of death penalty

In an escalating campaign to stamp out ethnic violence, Chinese forces on Wednesday saturated the western city of Urumqi, helicopters dropped leaflets urging calm and the local Communist Party boss warned of the death penalty for rioters convicted of killings.

By Los Angeles Times

URUMQI, China — In an escalating campaign to stamp out ethnic violence, Chinese forces on Wednesday saturated the western city of Urumqi, helicopters dropped leaflets urging calm and the local Communist Party boss warned of the death penalty for rioters convicted of killings.

"We're determined to maintain social stability," Urumqi's party chief, Li Zhi, said at a news conference. "To those who committed crimes with cruel means, we will execute them."

Despite the massive show of force, Han Chinese and the Turkic minority Uighurs continued to fight in the city streets.

Since Sunday, violence virtually has paralyzed Urumqi, and authorities fear it could spread to other parts of the Xinjiang region.

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