AN UNNAMED Chinese official said the 'unrest was masterminded by the World Uighur (also spelt Uighur) Congress led by Rebiya Kadeer', according to Xinhua.

'This was a crime of violence that was pre-meditated and organised,' said the report.

Rebiya Kadeer is a Uighur businesswoman now in exile in the United States after years in jail, and accused of separatist activities. She did not answer calls for comment.

But exiled Uighur groups adamantly rejected the Chinese government claim of a plot. They said the riot was an outpouring of pent-up anger over government policies and Han Chinese dominance of economic opportunities.

'They're blaming us as a way to distract the Uighurs' attention from the discrimination and oppression that sparked this protest,' said Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uighur Congress in exile in Sweden.

'It began as a peaceful assembly. There were thousands of people shouting to stop ethnic discrimination ... They are tired of suffering in silence.'

The government's claims of conspiracy by pro-independence exiles echo the handling of rioting across Tibetan areas in March last year, which Beijing also called a plot hatched abroad.

The unrest underscores that Xinjiang, no less than Tibet, faces volatile ethnic tensions that have accompanied China's growing economic and political stake in its western frontiers.

Xinjiang is the doorway to China's trade and energy ties with central Asia, and is itself rich in gas, minerals and farm produce. But many Uighurs say they see little of that wealth.

'The government is applying its ready-made template that all ethnic tension is caused by external plots,' said Mr Nicholas Bequelin, a China researcher for Human Rights Watch, a New York-based group, who has long studied Xinjiang.

'This incident could further polarise ethnic groups in Xinjiang ... The official reaction is going to be pretty much what we saw in Tibet - more repression, tighter control.' -- REUTERS