Troops flooded into Urumqi, capital of the western China region of Xinjiang, on Wednesday separating the feuding Han and Uighur ethnic groups, AP reported. People were encouraged to stay in their homes after three days of rioting left approximately 156 people dead and more than 1,100 wounded. Officials said that some of the rioters were university students who "were misled" so they would be given lighter sentences but those people who committed serious crimes would be executed. The riots were considered one of the worst cases of ethnic fighting in China since last year’s riots in Tibet. The violence caused President Hu Jintao to return from Italy yesterday where he was taking part in the G8 summit.