China suicide bombing over land dispute

Ap News Via Yahoo

Tuesday April 17, 12:14 PM

A disgruntled farmer in southwest China has killed a village leader in a suicide bombing and injured many other local officials following a land dispute, state press reported Tuesday.

Yue Xiaobao detonated explosives strapped to his body as he approached officials from Lishan village of Yunnan province on Sunday afternoon, the Beijing Times reported.

The attack came after village leaders had destroyed Yue's crop and forced him to plant tobacco, a leading cash crop in the province, the report said.

Yue carried out the attack while officials were on an inspection tour of local farmlands, it said.

Yue and Lishan village leader Ren Xuecai were killed immediately. As of late Monday, nine others wounded were in stable condition but many were expected to lose their eyesight, it said. Most of the wounded were local officials.

Yue reportedly threatened to kill Ren after village officials destroyed his crop of sweet potatoes and forced him to grow tobacco, but Ren dismissed the threat, saying: "I'm not afraid of you."

Land rights have become one of China's most serious social issues in recent years as local officials often use their powers to implement land-use policies unpopular with local residents.

As China's real estate market has boomed over the last decade, many residents have also accused government officials of colluding with developers to cash in on the hot property market.

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