China bans mosque prayers in Urumqi

A Chinese official said that mosques in riot-hit Urumqi have been ordered to stay closed for Friday prayers in the wake of ethnic

Ethnic Uighurs walk as Chinese

violence that left 156 dead, and another city in Xinjiang province has suspended visits by foreigners.

The official who identified herself as a government worker but refused to give her name said on Friday that the decision to close mosques had been made for public safety and that "people should stay at home today and pray."

Uighur Muslims said they had been directed to pray at home, as armed forces saturated the streets of the northwest Xinjiang region's capital five days after clashes that authorities said left 156 people dead.

"There's nothing we can do... the government is afraid that people will use religion to support the three forces."

The "three forces" is a Chinese government term referring to extremism, separatism and terrorism, forces it says are trying to split the remote Xinjiang region from the rest of the country.

Xinjiang's eight million Uighurs have long complained about religious, political and economic repression under Chinese rule, and this deep-set anger spilled out on Sunday in protests that quickly turned violent.

The Chinese government said 156 people were killed and more than 1,000 others were injured, as Uighur Muslims attacked people from China's dominant Han ethnic group.

But Uighur exiles have said security forces over-reacted to peaceful protests. They said up to 800 people may have died in the unrest, including the security crackdown.