-- April 5, 1990: One of the first clashes to erupt since 1949 occurred in the southwestern village of Baren, which saw a mob of 200 attack a mosque and local government facilities. Eight people were killed and seven others injured.

--February 5, 1992: Four bombs exploded in Urumqi during Spring Festival, the major festival of Han ethnic Chinese. Three people were killed and 23 others injured.

--1996-1997: Assassinations attempts on police chiefs, senior officials and religious leaders. One police chief died.

--February 5, 1997: A mob of more than 1,000 took to the streets of Yili in central Xinjiang. Several civilians were killed.

--February 25, 1997: As Beijing mourned the death of late leader Deng Xiaoping, nine passengers were killed and dozens injured when four buses were bombed.

--March 2003: Armed men attacked a train travelling between China and Kygyzstan, killing 21, including 18 Chinese nationals.

--March 7, 2008: An ethnic Uygur woman, 19, attempted a terrorist attack on a China Southern Airlines flight that left Urumqi for Beijing. The attempt was foiled by the authorities.

--August 4, 2008: Two terrorists armed with guns, explosives and other weapons drove a truck into more than 70 police presonnel conducting a regular morning exercise in Kashgar. Seventeen people were killed and 15 others injured in the attack four days before the Beijing Olympics.

(China Daily July 7, 2009)