Rioters attack government office in northwest China

BEIJING (Reuters) - A crowd of about 1,000 people attacked a government office in northwest China, smashing cars and beating police and officials in a riot sparked by a property dispute, the local government said on Tuesday.

A group of more than 30 people seeking redress for the loss of their homes and land were joined by hundreds of people outside a petitions office in Longnan, Gansu province, the Longnan city government said in a statement posted on its website.

The petitioners "... were provoked by a small minority of people with ulterior motives. (The office's) staff and police were beaten by some criminals, leading to the injury of more than 60 officials, police and people," the notice said.

After repeated attempts at mediation failed, police "had no option but to use force to disperse the leaders of the rioting criminals" but were met with a hail of rocks, bricks, and flower pots, and attacked by people with iron bars, axes and hoes on Monday evening.

Rioters later charged into the government compound, smashing windows and looting office equipment in two buildings, and torching cars and motorcycles in the yard, the notice said.

Some hijacked a fire truck at the site, but were stopped by police from doing further damage, it added.

Law enforcement authorities had taken firm measures to take the situation "basically under control", the notice said, without providing details.

China with its vast and poor rural population, sees many thousands of protests every year, often involving land grabs by developers in collusion with government officials, but has been rocked by several incidents of bitter rioting in recent months.

Thousands of local residents mobbed government offices in Weng'an county, Guizhou, in late June, torching the local police headquarters and police vehicles after the suspicious death of a teenage girl.

The government is battling a new stability problem as the global economic crisis threatens China's growth and triggers the closure of factories across its industrial heartland, sparking protests by laid-off workers.