Syringe attacks continue in Urumqi despite death penalty warning

October 14th, 2009 China sentences 6 more to death for Xinjiang riotBEIJING — China sentenced six people to death Thursday over murders committed during deadly riots in the western Xinjiang region in July, bringing the number of people facing the death penalty for the riots to 12. Nearly 200 people were killed when riots erupted in the regional capital of Urumqi, with Muslim Uighurs attacking members of China's dominant Han ethnic group.

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 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 8th, 2009 URUMQI - Authorities in riot-hit Chinese city of Urumqi have announced that those found spreading rumours will be jailed. In order to maintain peace between fighting Han Chinese and Uighur groups, police has also threatened that needle attackers would be liable to death penalty.

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 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 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 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.

September 3rd, 2009 URUMQI - Crowds demanding security guarantees gathered at a number of places in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang region in China, Thursday morning following hypodermic syringe attacks in the city. More than 1,000 people gathered in Xiaoximen area, a police officer said.

July 11th, 2009 URUMQI - The death toll in the riots in China's Urumqi city has risen to 184, authorities said Saturday. The dead comprise 137 people from the Han community, including 26 women.

July 9th, 2009 URUMQI - A senior official has warned that China will execute anyone found to be behind the 156 riot killings in the north west city of Urumqi. Sky News quoted Li Zhi, the Communist Party boss of Urumqi, as saying that the government would seek the death penalty over bloody protests in the capital of Xinjiang.