The People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's main newspaper, ran an editorial Thursday saying the violence was "in extreme violation of China's laws."

Uighurs say the riots that started Sunday - put down by volleys of tear gas and a massive show of force - were triggered by the late June deaths of Uighur factory workers during a brawl in a southern Chinese city. State-run media have said two workers died, but many Uighurs believe more were killed.

Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking people who have complained about the influx of Han Chinese in the region and government restrictions on religion, said the incident was an example of how little the government cared about them.

Government officials and state media continued to accuse U.S.-exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer and her overseas followers of being behind the violence. She has denied the allegations and accused China of inciting the violence.

Urumqi's mayor, Jierla Yishamuding, was quoted by state media as saying Wednesday that the government would create a 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) Comfort Fund to help families of the dead, as well as those who were injured or disabled in the riot.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that China's top police officer had been sent to Urumqi (pronounced uh-ROOM-chee) to offer condolences to the victims.

Taiwan's government called on China to handle the crisis with calm and restraint.

"We severely condemn the violence in the incident," Taiwan's Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council said on its Web site. It urged Chinese authorities to "show the utmost tolerance in dealing with expressions of public opinions, protests and ethnic questions."