11 August 2014 Last updated at 03:20 ET
Paramilitary policemen stand guard during a ceremony to award those who the authorities say participated in “the crackdown of violence and terrorists activities” in Hotan, Xinjiang 3 August 2014
Chinese authorities have stepped up the troop presence in Xinjiang amid an upsurge in violence
Chinese authorities have detained a man they accuse of spreading online rumours about recent violence in Xinjiang’s Yarkant county.
Government outlet Tianshan News said the man wrote an “extremely unrealistic” account of the incident and “fabricated shocking details”.
A total of 96 people died in the 28 July violence in Yarkant, China says.
On Sunday, state media said 18 suspects linked to the deadly incident had surrendered to police.
State media and overseas activists give different accounts of the July violence. It is difficult to independently confirm details of incidents in Xinjiang, because access and information flow are tightly controlled.
The region, in China’s far west, borders Central Asia and is home to the Muslim Uighur minority group. It has seen an upsurge in violence in recent months, which Beijing blames on Uighur separatists.
Police wearing sashes hold placards during a ceremony to award those who the authorities say participated in “the crackdown of violence and terrorists activities” in Hotan, Xinjiang on 3 August 2014
Authorities have rewarded Xinjiang police officers who have helped in the “crackdown on terrorist activities”
‘Bigger impact’
State media has called the clash in Yarkant, also known as Shache, a “terror attack”.
Officials say the incident began when a group armed with knives and axes stormed a police station and government offices. Thirty-seven civilians were killed and 13 were injured. Police shot dead 59 attackers, they say.
But a Uighur rights group has claimed that police opened fire on people protesting against a Ramadan crackdown on Muslims.
Tianshan News said the arrested man was an unemployed Yarkant native currently living in the region’s capital, Urumqi.
He allegedly circumvented internal censorship controls in China to send his account to overseas websites.
