Chinese police have been carrying out anti-riot exercises, and installed 40,000 security cameras in Urumqi, the capital of the western Xinjiang region. Chinese state-run Global Times reports, “everyone should expect someone is watching at all times.”

The security measures are for the first anniversary of deadly ethnic riots that broke out last year on July 5. Hundreds of Uighurs demonstrated in Urumqi after fatal attacks on Uighur workers at a factory in southern China.

Uighurs are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group, native to the Xinjiang region. They have long perceived rule under the Chinese Communist Party as oppressive and discriminatory.

Uighur groups say the protest turned violent after local authorities fired live ammunition to end the protest. The city descended into deadly chaos in the following days, as Uighurs, ethnic Han Chinese and police clashed. Hundreds died in the week-long violence.

The Chinese regime blames the riot on so-called overseas agitators, led by exiled Uighur Rebiya Kadeer—a charge she denies.

Authorities arrested hundreds of people in the aftermath of the violence. Around two dozen have been sentenced to death.

Last Friday, rights group Amnesty International issued a report criticizing the Chinese regime's handling of the riots. The reports cite use of excessive force, mass arrests, forced disappearances and torture of prisoners during the crackdown. It urged the regime to conduct a proper investigation into the riot, and address long-simmering grievances the Uighurs have towards its rule.

Following the bloodshed last year, local authorities shut off communication in the region, turning off the Internet, international telephone and text messaging. These services only resumed slowly over the last few months, but some Uighur websites are still blocked.