Video Shows Violent Demolition Standoff

[WedgeAntilles]

Video shows Nanning police firing rubber bullets at villagers in demolition raid

PUBLISHED : Friday, 25 October, 2013, 3:17pm
UPDATED : Friday, 25 October, 2013, 4:28pm

Amy Li [email protected]

Demolition police were taped shooting at residents in Nanning. Photo: screenshot via Video

In a viral video clip that startled China’s bloggers, police in southern Guangxi province were recorded firing bullets at villagers in a residential complex during a demolition raid.

Officials in Nanning told Beijing Times on Friday that law enforcement officers were “forced” to use tear gas and fire rubber bullets because their personal safety had been threatened by violent residents who refused to leave the “illegally-built establishment”.

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The confrontation happened on September 28 in Nanning’s Qingxiu district, according to a Beijing Times report.

Officials accused residents of illegally building 13 structures on the site and using them to operate restaurant businesses without licences. Demolition forces were called after numerous talks failed to persuade residents to take down the illegal structures themselves, said the government.

While demolition police arrived, they were attacked by residents who threw stones and petrol bombs at them, said the police.

A total of nine people were detained for “obstructing public affairs”, said The Beijing Times.