Kazakhstan's ambassador to China Ikram Adyrbekov said Thursday the country was grateful for the support given to the Kazakhstan citizens in Urumqi by the Chinese government and people during the July 5 riot.

Adyrbekov said about 5,000 Kazakhstan citizens -- mostly business people, college students, tourists and hospital patients staying in downtown hotels -- were in Urumqi at the time.

"Under such unusual circumstances, Kazakhstan diplomatic agents took necessary measures to ensure their safety and psychological health, and transferred them to safe places," Adyrbekov told Xinhua Thursday.

He said he appreciated the timely support offered to Kazakhstan citizens by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Xinjiang government and other government organizations and Chinese people.

He said he was "worried and heart-struck" about the unrest and stressed that it was "purely a matter of China's domestic politics."

The unrest in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has led to the deaths of 192 people so far.

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2009)