Migrant workers clash with locals, police in China

BEIJING (AFP) - Scores of people were injured when police in southern China broke up clashes between migrant workers and the local population in the latest unrest to hit the nation, a rights group said on Tuesday.

Police stepped in to break up fighting between the workers largely from Sichuan province and the locals in Shaxi township in Guangdong province on Monday night, the Information Centre For Human Rights and Democracy said.

At least 30 people were injured and two police cars were smashed during the rioting that erupted as police descended onto the scene, the centre said.

Guangdong, located next to Hong Kong and known as the 'world's factory floor', has employed tens of millions of migrant workers in recent decades, a pool of cheap labour that has driven China's export-oriented economy.