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Police quash Yongzhou riot

Armed paramilitary police have poured into Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, to quell four days of violent riots sparked by rising transportation costs, residents and police said yesterday.

Detachments from the People's Armed Police (PAP) had joined with local security forces in Yongzhou on Monday, and by yesterday had restored calm for the first time in five days, they said.

"Things have calmed down today because they sent armed police with guns and metal rods last night," said a resident surnamed Lu, who withheld her full name.

She said PAP officers were seen beating people on the streets Monday night.

Protests erupted last Friday, escalating into major confrontations between local police forces and more than 1,000 angry residents.

The Chinese overseas Web site Boxun.com said one middle-school student had been beaten severely and died in hospital.

The incident was triggered when a bus station employee began beating a middle-school student after a dispute over a new five-yuan (US$0.63) baggage fee, Lu said.

It was unclear if the student was the same one reported by Boxun.com to have died.

Local police declined to comment, with staff at the Public Security Bureau's Lingling District headquarters saying all officers were out on the streets.
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