President of Turkey Abdullah Gul said that he observes the events in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, and considers that the Chinese Government should investigate the recent events, Turkish Anadolu news agency reported.
The riots occurred in the administrative center of the city of Urumqi on Sunday evening. According to eyewitnesses, the fighting involved burning shops and cars. According to recent data provided by local law-enforcement agencies, the incident caused death of 156 people and 816 injured civilian casualties. As formerly reported, the protesters in Urumqi expressed dissatisfaction with the recent deaths of two Uighurs in clashes of workers in toy factory in Guangdong province.
Touching upon the conflict between the Uighurs and the Chinese living in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Prime Minister of Turkey Rajap Tayyip Erdogan said that the violence against the Uighurs must be ended. Protest actions are held in many cities and provinces of Turkey and some NGOs call on to boycott Chinese goods.
"We closely observe the events in China and consider that such a great power like China must investigate the recent events," stated the President of Turkey Abdullah Gul.