Beijing  - Police in China's far western Xinjiang region have ended a second protest by Uighurs following the rioting that left more than 150 dead in the regional capital, Urumqi, state media said Tuesday.

Police in Kashgar, China's westernmost city, dispersed more than 200 Uighurs who gathered Monday evening at the city's Id Kah Mosque, the government's Xinhua news agency quoted officials as saying.

US-based Uighur exile leader Rebiya Kadeer, who heads the Uighur American Association and the World Uighur Congress, said she had unconfirmed reports that more than 100 people had died during unrest in Kashgar.

Chinese troops had suppressed protests in Kashgar and the nearby city of Hotan, Kadeer said late Monday in Washington.

She said the two Uighur groups "condemn in the strongest possible terms the Chinese government's use of excessive force against the protesters in Urumqi and Kashgar."

"We call upon the international community to denounce the brutality used by the Chinese government to suppress the Uighur demonstrators," Kadeer said.

The agency said checkpoints were set up at junctions between Kashgar city centre and the airport, while the streets were largely deserted Monday night.

Kashgar residents told the German Press Agency dpa on Monday that many extra police vehicles were patrolling the streets and a three- day curfew was in force in the city.

Xinhua said tens of thousands of extra police and troops were deployed across Xinjiang to deter more unrest after rioting late Sunday and early Monday in Urumqi.

Police had arrested more than 1,400 suspects following the rioting in Urumqi, the report said.

Xinjiang police received information suggesting Uighurs planned more protests in Kashgar, Aksu city and the Yili area, the agency said. Authorities raided "several groups who allegedly plotted unrest" in the suburbs of Urumqi, the agency said.

Officials said early Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 156 with 1,080 injured after the rioting in Urumqi. The fatalities were described as 129 men and 27 women; there were no details about how many police, Uighurs or members of the Han Chinese majority were among the casualties.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged China to "exercise extreme care" and allow people the right to protest.

US-based Human Rights Watch said that China should allow the United Nations to conduct an independent investigation into the unrest. (dpa)