100 arrested in southwest China riots: official media

BEIJING (AFP) — Police in southwest China have arrested 100 people for their involvement in a major riot last month that highlighted social tensions ahead of the Beijing Olympics, state press said on Monday.

A protest involving 30,000 people saw government buildings and cars torched on June 28 in Weng'an county, Guizhou province, after crowds accused police of covering up the alleged rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl.

The riots came at a particularly sensitive time for China's communist rulers, who have been trying to portray the nation as harmonious and stable ahead of next month's Olympics.

Police have repeatedly denied the accusations they covered up the real cause of the girl's death.

But sacked Weng'an police chief Shen Guirong last week admitted the riot could have also been triggered by his former colleagues' links to triad mobsters and a history of ...