Protesters in southern China's manufacturing hub torched emergency vehicles in an outburst of anger against police abuse of migrant workers, eyewitnesses said Monday. Sunday night's rioting followed three days of steadily growing unrest in the town of Xintang in Guangdong province, the linchpin of China's crucial export industry.
Accounts of the violence in state-controlled media have been sparse, but the official Xinhua News Agency says a government team has been sent to the area to quell rumours surrounding the unrest. Violence broke out Friday evening after a pregnant woman was pushed to the ground in a sweep against street vendors, most of whom are migrants from the south-western province of Sichuan. Such disputes are common and bystanders often side with the vendors and accuse police of heavy-handed tactics. Tens of thousands of people gathered Sunday night at a major highway interchange, setting fire to more than two fozen emergency vehicles and fighting with police and paramilitary forces.
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