The protest in Qianxi County, Guizhou province, was the latest of thousands of brief, local riots and demonstrations that happen in China every year, and like many recent outbreaks this one pitted residents against "urban administration" officials charged with enforcing law and order.

The "clash broke out between urban administration officials and the owner of an illegally parked vehicle, drawing in thousands of onlookers and sparking incidents of crowds smashing law enforcement vehicles and blocking roads," the website of China National Radio (http://cds.cnr.cn) reported on Friday.

Rioters turned over one urban administration vehicle and smashed five police vehicles, while others blocked the main streets around the riot with forklifts and trucks, said the report.

"While dealing with the incident, some police were injured," said the report, which added that by the early hours of August 12 the crowds had largely scattered as police asserted control.

Reuters