China: Anger grows in Urumqi over Covid lockdown after deadly fire

Since early August, there have been restrictions in place in the city- capital of the western Xinjiang region

FP Staff|Nov 26, 2022, 16:24:14 IST

Massive protests have erupted in China’s restive Xinjiang region after an apartment block fire killed 10 people. The people vented their anger against the strict Covid-19 curbs that some social media posts claimed hampered the rescue efforts.

Since early August, there have been restrictions in place in the city- capital of the western Xinjiang region.

China’s extremely strict ‘Zero-Covid policy’ is increasingly resulting in public fatigue and anger.

According to the state news agency, Xinhua, ten people were killed and nine were injured when the blaze ripped through an apartment block in the regional capital Urumqi on Thursday night.

Social media posts on both- Chinese and overseas portal- since Friday have claimed that strict and lengthy Covid lockdowns in the city has hampered rescue attempts. In the viral videos, the residents in Urumqi can be seen taking to streets to protest against the coronavirus measures.

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