Urumqi, the regional capital, erupted in violence on July 5 last year between the mainly Muslim Uighur minority and members of China's dominant Han ethnic group, fuelled by Uighur resentment over Beijing's rule of Xinjiang.

In the following days, mobs of angry Han took to the streets looking for revenge in the worst ethnic violence that China had seen in decades. The unrest left nearly 200 dead and 1,700 injured, according to government figures.

On Monday, security personnel were concentrated in the city centre and the Uighur areas of Urumqi. Armed security forces and riot police patrolled in formation, and police vans made regular rounds in the area.

Armed police with helmets and shields also marched on the edges of People's Square in the heart of the city, where the unrest began last year. The plaza has been shut down for renovations, construction workers told AFP.

Most businesses and restaurants were open throughout Urumqi, and police presence was lighter in other parts of the city, though in the north, officers patrolled in groups outside the city government headquarters.

"It's really tense today. Look at the streets. There aren't many people there and normally it would be bustling at this time of day," Liu Yan, a 50-year-old Han Chinese taxi driver, told AFP.

Authorities keen to ensure no repeat of last year's mayhem have installed 40,000 security cameras throughout Urumqi, a city of about two million people, according to state media. Anti-riot exercises have also been staged.

In a mainly Uighur district in the southeast of the city, a Han woman who lost a relative in last year's turmoil sobbed and wailed on the side of the street as she burned paper, a ritual carried out in honour of the dead.

"Where have you gone?" she cried. Residents later escorted her away under the watchful eye of dozens of police.

China blamed "separatists" for orchestrating the July 2009 unrest.

But Uighurs say the violence was sparked when police cracked down on peaceful demonstrations staged over a factory brawl the month before in southern China in which two Uighur migrant workers were reportedly killed.

Authorities blocked Internet access, text messages and international phone calls in and out of Xinjiang after the riots -- restrictions that have been gradually lifted, though some Uighur-language websites remain inaccessible.

So far, about 200 people have been convicted for their roles in the violence. At least 26 of them have been sentenced to death, and nine already put to death, according to press reports.

The United States has urged Beijing to be more transparent in how it handles the court cases related to the violence.

"We have urged China to ensure that the legal rights of all Chinese citizens are respected in accordance with international standards of due process," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told AFP.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International called for an independent probe, citing "excessive use of force, mass arrests, enforced disappearances, torture and ill treatment" of prisoners during the security crackdown after the unrest.

Several Uighurs in Urumqi told AFP of friends and family members who were detained and held incommunicado for months, sometimes without charge, before being released.

Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the overseas World Uighur Congress, said: "We call on the international community to pressure China to carry out an independent inquiry on the events of July 5 and end repression of Uighurs."

Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking people, allege decades of Chinese oppression and unwanted Han immigration, and while standards of living in Xinjiang have improved, Uighurs complain most of the gains go to the Han Chinese.

Tensions in the city again boiled over in September after a spate of syringe attacks -- which many victims blamed on Uighurs -- led to days of protests that left five people dead.

"As a cab driver, I would think twice before I picked up a Uighur, because I'm still scared," said Liu, quickly adding he counted Uighurs among his friends.

Timeline of unrest in China's Xinjiang region
Urumqi, China (AFP) July 5, 2010 - China's Xinjiang region on Monday marks the first anniversary of deadly ethnic unrest in its capital Urumqi that exposed deep anger among the mostly Muslim Uighur minority and which Beijing says left nearly 200 dead.

Following is a chronology of key events related to the restive region since 2008:

2008

May 5 -- Three killed in bus bombing in Shanghai. The Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) claims responsibility.

July 8 -- Chinese authorities say police killed five Muslims who were planning a "holy war" in Urumqi.

July 21 -- Three buses bombed in Kunming, in southwest China's Yunnan province, killing two people. TIP claims responsibility. China says TIP not responsible, but gives no details.

August 4 -- China says "terrorists" kill 17 police officers and border guards in the far-western city of Kashgar, days before the Beijing Olympics open.

August 10 -- At least 10 attackers and one security guard are killed in bombings and a shoot-out with police in the remote city of Kuqa.

August 12 -- Three security officers outside Kashgar are killed when assailants jump off a vehicle passing through a checkpoint and stab them.

August 27 -- Two policemen are killed and five wounded while searching a cornfield near Kashgar for a suspect connected with an earlier attack.

August 29 -- Chinese police kill six and arrest three others in a clash in Kashgar.

2009

February 25 -- A couple from Xinjiang set themselves on fire with their son in central Beijing over a dispute with their local government. They survive.

April 9 -- China executes two Muslim men in Kashgar for the August 4 attack.

June 25 -- A huge brawl erupts in the city of Shaoguan in southern China's Guangdong province between Uighur and ethnic Han factory workers. Two Uighurs are reported killed and dozens injured.

July 5 -- Uighurs gather in Urumqi to protest over the Shaoguan incident but violence erupts after security forces move in. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Uighurs riot.

July 6 -- Chinese security forces begin to pour into Urumqi and fan out across Xinjiang. The Xinjiang government blames exiled Uighur dissident Rebiya Kadeer for orchestrating the unrest. Kadeer, other Uighur exiles and Uighurs in Urumqi blame Chinese authorities for provoking the violence.

July 7 -- Police fire tear gas to halt thousands of armed Han Chinese threatening revenge attacks on Uighurs in Urumqi. The government says nearly 200 died in the unrest, with more than 1,600 injured and hundreds arrested.

July 13 -- Police in Urumqi shoot dead two Uighurs whom witnesses say had attacked security forces with knives.

September 2 -- Han residents take to Urumqi's streets for several days of protests calling for a crackdown over a wave of syringe stabbings. The government eventually says nearly 500 were stabbed. Beijing blames "ethnic separatist forces". At least 75 are later reported arrested for the attacks.

November 9 -- China says it had put to death the first nine people over the July unrest. Eventually at least 26 are reportedly sentenced to death.

2010

January 18 -- State media says China restored Xinjiang text-message services cut off amid the July 2009 unrest out of fear they were used to organise more violence. Email and some Internet services are later gradually restored.

March 15 -- Xinjiang's hardline top leader Wang Lequan says China will accelerate development in Xinjiang to quell unrest. State media later say more than one billion dollars will be invested.

April 24 -- Chinese media says the unpopular Wang has been replaced by Zhang Chunxian, a Communist Party official from Hunan province, in a move widely seen as a bid to placate public anger.

June 24 -- Police say they busted a Xinjiang "terrorist" ring behind a string of deadly attacks in the region, arresting at least 10 people.

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