BEIJING, April 11 -- Thousands of villagers rioted in eastern China after two women among about 200 elderly anti-pollution protesters were killed during efforts by police to disperse them, villagers and officials said on Monday. More than 50 policemen and about four villagers were injured in the clashes.
The rioting in Huangtianfan township in the coastal province of Zhejiang on Sunday coincided with anti-Japanese protests in China's capital, Beijing, and the southern cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen over the weekend.
The women were protesting against pollution from nearby chemical factories.
Villagers clashed with police, overturned police cars and hurled rocks at policemen holed up in a local high school, villagers and local officials said by phone.
