The Chinese government is being accused of covering up the killing of up to 20 rural demonstrators last week in the southern town of Dongzhoukeng. If the death toll is confirmed it would be the deadliest known use of force by Chinese security forces since the Tinanmen Square massacre in 1989. The killings occurred on Tuesday when thousands of villagers gathered to protest plans to build a wind power plant on seized farming land. The police are reportedly refusing to return the dead to their families and dozens of people are said to still be missing. The Associated Press reports thousands of armed troops are now patrolling the perimeter of the town and blocking residents from leaving. On Sunday the Chinese government announced the commander of the paramilitary group that conducted the killings would be arrested. In recent years tens of thousands of protests have occurred in the Chinese countryside stemming from the country’s rapid industrialization. The government has come under criticism in rural areas for seizing farmland to build power plants, factories and shopping malls.