Authorities will this Sunday stop accepting damage claims resulting from the Urumqi riot on July 5 to speed up compensation, said the city's riot remedial office on Saturday.

A notice issued by the office urged those who suffered property damage during the riot to register losses accompanied by necessary paperwork on and before August 9.

The remedial office will work on compensation once the losses are verified, an office spokesman said.

Immediate family members of victims who were injured or killed in the Urumqi riot, will have access to legal aid on various issues regardless of their financial condition, said Ren Guoshen, vice chief of the Legal Aid Center of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The center has also set up a telephone network for counseling and legal advice, Reng said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2009)