The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Saturday conveyed condolence to the families of the victims in the bloody Xinjiang riot on July 5.

A statement from the SCO said the organization sincerely sympathize with the family members of those innocent people killed in the riot that occurred in Urumqi, capital of northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The riot has so far caused 184 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries, left hundreds of vehicles burnt, shops looted and other public facilities destroyed.

The SCO's member states regard that the Xinjiang region is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China and the situation in Xinjiang is purely China's internal affairs, the statement said.

The SCO believes that measures the Chinese government is taking in accordance with the country's laws can restore peace and order in the region, it said.

The statement, issued by the SCO's rotating Secretary-General Bolat Nurgaliev, vowed that the the organization will enhance cooperation among member states in terms of fighting terrorism, separatism, extremism and transnational organized crimes to maintain peace and stability of the SCO area.

The SCO is a permanent inter-governmental international organization with its Beijing-based secretariat. It was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2009)