Angry demonstrations in Chinese city after syringe attacks

September 15th, 2009 Chinese ban transport of explosives in UrumqiBEIJING — Chinese police on Tuesday banned explosives from being transported in the western region of Xinjiang, the scene of deadly ethnic rioting this summer, while more suspects were being investigated for a spate of mysterious syringe attacks. The Xinjiang Public Security Ministry said transport of weapons, ammunition, explosives and radioactive goods into or within Xinjiang would be suspended from Sept.

September 14th, 2009 URUMQUI - The blood samples of Urimqui's latest syringe attack victims showed no trace of radioactive, toxic or viral substances, such as AIDS, an expert at a Beijing-based laboratory has said. However, Director of Disease Control and Biological Security Office with China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Qian Jun, has said that the victims have showed signs of depression.

September 12th, 2009 China sentences 3 to prison over needle attacksBEIJING — A court in western China's Xinjiang region sentenced three people to up to 15 years in prison Saturday in the first trials over a series of mysterious syringe attacks that led to mass protests against the local government. The three, all ethnic Uighurs, were sentenced by the Intermediate People's Court in the regional capital, Urumqi, state media reported.

September 11th, 2009 New needle attacks reported in Chinese citiesBEIJING — Mystery needle attacks appeared to spread in China's far western region as authorities arrested nine new suspects in three cities, officials said Friday. The suspects were recently detained in the Xinjiang region cities of Hotan, Altay, and Kashgar in connection with alleged attacks involving hypodermic needles, a press officer at the Xinjiang government press center in the provincial capital Urumqi said Friday.

September 11th, 2009 China sentences 3 to prison over syringe attacksBEIJING — A court in western China's Xinjiang region sentenced three people to up to 15 years in prison Saturday for a series of mysterious syringe attacks that led to mass protests against the local government. The protests by tens of thousands of Han Chinese earlier this month said the government can't guarantee their safety.

September 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Chinese officials in Urumqi have termed the recent syringe attacks as "terror attacks". "They aimed to unsettle the city's atmosphere," said Yan Yuxing, former president of Urumqi Municipal Intermediate People's Court.

September 9th, 2009 URUMQI - Despite a death penalty warning, 77 cases of needle attack were reported between Sunday and Monday evenings in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, police say. So far, police have caught 45 suspects during the syringe scare, of whom 12 remain in police custody.

September 6th, 2009 China: Syringe-wielding assailants may face deathBEIJING — China says assailants behind syringe attacks that sparked protests in the western city of Urumqi could face the death penalty if convicted. The official Xinhua News Agency said Sunday that harsh punishment would be meted out to those who stabbed others with hypodermic needles containing poisonous or harmful substances or contaminated by drug use.

September 6th, 2009 URUMQI - In the aftermath of Xinjiang riots that erupted on July 5, the party chief of Urumqi and police chief of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have been sacked. According to a decision by the CPC Xinjiang Autonomous Regional Committee, Li Zhi, secretary of the Urumqi Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was replaced by Zhu Hailun.

September 5th, 2009 Angry China city calmer after top official sackedURUMQI, China — The sacking of the head of a western Chinese city shaken by ethnic violence and a bizarre string of needle attacks appeared to dull public anger Sunday after three days of protests. Although security was still heavy in Urumqi, many of the paramilitary troops had withdrawn from positions around the city.

September 5th, 2009 Top official in volatile Chinese city sackedURUMQI, China — The head of a western city wracked by communal violence and a bizarre string of needle attacks has been sacked by Chinese authorities hoping to calm uneasy mobs and end protests that left the city on edge for three days. Security was tight Sunday in Urumqi, but the city was calm with no sign of protests.

September 5th, 2009 Top official in China's volatile Urumqi sackedURUMQI, China — Chinese leaders bowed to public demands and sacked the head of a western city wracked by communal violence and a bizarre string of needle attacks, hoping to calm uneasy mobs and end protests that percolated for a third day Saturday. The removal of Urumqi's Communist Party Secretary Li Zhi came amid reports of police again dispersing crowds outside Urumqi's government offices using tear gas, and more unconfirmed reports of needle attacks, including one on an 11-year-old boy in a downtown square.

September 4th, 2009 Troops patrol China city after protests kill 5URUMQI, China — Thousands of troops, backed by tanks and metal barricades, patrolled the western city of Urumqi on Saturday after five people died in protests over a series of bizarre needle attacks that China's police chief has blamed on Muslim separatists. The hypodermic needle attacks have unnerved a population already shaken by ethnic rioting two months ago that the government said left nearly 200 people dead.

September 4th, 2009 Chinese city quiet after protests left 5 deadURUMQI, China — Security was heavy in the western Chinese city of Urumqi on Saturday after two days of demonstrations over a series of syringe attacks left five people dead and 14 injured. China's security chief blamed Muslim separatists on Friday for the needle attacks that have heightened tensions following ethnic rioting in July that left nearly 200 people dead according to official count.

September 3rd, 2009 URUMQI - Following a spate of ethnically motivated syringe attacks in China's Xinjiang province, renewed mass demonstrations and violence was reported in the region on Thursday. Thousands of people gathered at the residential quarter of Xiaoximen, at Renmin Cinema and Beiyuanchun farmers' produce wholesale market and demanded security assurance from authorities, Xinhua reports.