Mysterious syringe and needle attacks, both real and imagined, are continuing in Xinjiang and spreading outside Urumqi, Reuters reports:
Nearly 600 people in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, home to the native Muslim Uighurs, have said they were stabbed with needles over the last two weeks, leading to mass demonstrations by Han Chinese against a government they said could not guarantee their safety.
Nine suspects were detained in the cities of Hotan, Altay and Kashgar, the China Daily said.
The pattern of real and imagined attacks appears to be continuing. Of nine reported attacks in Hotan, three were actually pricked, while in Altay, four of five reported attacks were false alarms and in Kashgar, three of five were false alarms, the paper said, citing local officials.
Officials and state media blamed the attacks in Urumqi on separatists bent on destroying ethnic unity.
Read previous coverage of the protests over the syringe attacks via CDT.
