Unprecedented protests against Covid restrictions broke out in China overnight on Friday, with hundreds taking to the streets in Xinjiang's capital amid anger over a deadly fire. Footage posted online showed crowds clashing with SWAT-uniformed guards on Friday in the city of Urumqi after rumours spread that ongoing draconian anti-Covid measures had led to the deaths of 10 in a blaze in a high-rise building late on Thursday. Crowds pumped their fists in the air as they walked down a street and chanted, “Lift the lockdown,” according to videos circulating on social media and verified by Reuters and other newswires. In one video, a man can be heard shouting at the guards, “Whose children are you, and whose father are you? Don't you have a conscience? How many people died today?“ Xinjiang has been the site of one of China’s toughest and longest Covid lockdowns, with many of Urumqi's 4 million residents having been prevented from leaving their homes for as l
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