Trials of suspects involved in deadly unrest that shook the capital of China's Xinjiang region are slated to begin in mid-August, says state press.

 
"Only a small number of those arrested are charged and will stand trial for the riot," the English-language China Daily said, quoting unidentified court and police sources in the Xinjiang capital Urumqi.
 
But police have not said how many have been charged, nor how many of those detained have so far been released, the newspaper added.
 
Police have confirmed the detentions of over 1,600 people suspected of playing a role in the violence that erupted on July 5, the China Daily said. The unrest left 197 people dead and over 1,700 injured, according to officials.
 
The trials will be held at an intermediate court in Urumqi which is already preparing for the hearings, the report said.
 
Exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer said Wednesday that nearly 10,000 of her people had "disappeared" after the violent clashes, either killed or detained.
 
Xinjiang government spokeswoman Hou Hanmin dismissed the claim, calling it "not even worth a counter-reaction".
 
The China Daily report did not specify what kind of charges the detainees would face at trial. 
 
Three days after the unrest, Urumqi's Communist party chief Li Zhi vowed: "Those who brutally killed in the incident, we will sentence to death."
 
On Thursday, Urumqi police issued photographs of 15 suspects still at large and promised leniency for those who turned themselves in. Those who did not would be "punished severely", the police said.
 
Uighurs say the unrest was touched off when Urumqi security forces responded violently to peaceful protests over a brawl at a factory in southern China. State media said the factory clash left two Uighurs dead.
 
The government says Uighurs, most of whom are Muslim, went on a rampage in Urumqi against members of China's dominant Han ethnic group.