Nearly two weeks after the July 5 riot in Urumqi of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, social order and people's lives are returning to normal. Yet in retrospect, a mass of evidences show that the unrest was a well-planned violent criminal incident of terrorist nature.

Feint before violence

Investigations by reporters reveal a salient feature of the riot, that is 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.

At about 6:00 p.m. July 5, some persons gathered in the People's Square, continuously making phone calls and sending text messages. Some people were shouting slogans to attract passersby. The crowd grew larger and larger.

According to the local police department, about 1,500 policemen were sent to the place to maintain order and disperse the crowd.

At about 8:00 p.m., the police were told that a group of thugs were beating innocent people, smashing cars and buses, and burning police cars at Er Dao Qiao in a southern area of the city.

Xinhua reporters at the area spotted the body of a victim under a bridge, people fleeing in all directions, shops closing, mobsters smashing and setting fire as they walked along, more and more shops, automobiles and public facilities got destroyed and people got hurt.

At the same time, people gathered in the People's Square began to walk to the south.

According to two officials from the local committee of ethnics and religions who walked after these people, at the Longquan Street intersection, someone jumped out of the crowd and began to instigate people to join and follow them. The Longquan Street is a major passage leading to the Er Dao Qiao area.

At about 8:40 p.m., the crowd reached the Tianchi Road - close to the Er Dao Qiao area -- and were joined by about 200 people with clubs.

The two officials said that as fewer than 20 policemen lined up across the street to stop the crowd, someone in the crowd commanded the crowd to dash through the police line. A policeman was beat down and the crowd continued to move south with more violent behaviors.

According to the policemen who were at the scene, the crowd walked as long as several kilometers and more people joined in when the violent situation was worsening.

Sudden eruption all over

According to the local public security department, at about 9:00 p.m., the department received reports that thugs were making violence in more than 50 places in the city, attacking passersby, cars, shops, resident buildings, police and government offices.

The city's first aid center said they received numerous SOS calls starting from 8:23 p.m., resulting in the breakdown of the telephone switching system.

According to the center, from the night of July 5 to the next morning, it sent out ambulances for 737 times to give medical support to about 900 injured people.

A young woman told Xinhua that she was in a bus when the thugs started the violence. "There were also thugs in the bus. It was like they colluded over the whole thing and just waited in the bus for the time to come."

The girl said that she was beat "powerfully" in the head while trying to get off the bus after the driver opened the door. She was later sent to hospital for treatment.

"If there were no plan or organizing 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 told Xinhua.