protest - Police open fire at demonstrators, reports

An increasing number of troublesome reports, here at the Washington Post, indicated a prolonged and very violent struggle between military police and rioting farmers and fishermen. The number of deaths in the latest reports hover between ten and twenty, while the number of people hurt would exceed that.

The tough response by black-clad riot troops and People's Armed Police in camouflage fatigues deviated sharply from previous government tactics against the spreading unrest in Chinese villages and industrial suburbs. As far as is known, previous riots have all been put down with heavy use of truncheons and teargas, but without firearms.

The villagers of Dongzhou in Guangdong province protest against the compention they got for confiscated land.

Update: The situation seems to deteriorate, according to this report by Reuters and others.

Armed police have sealed off a village in southern China after violent clashes with residents that rights group Amnesty International said marked the first time Chinese police had fired on protesters since 1989.