who had needle puncture wounds experienced some discomfort in the area of the wound , and showed some symptoms , but could n't give an accurate account of what they perceived to have been a needle attack . '' This is the latest crisis plaguing Xinjiang province and its capital city of Urumqi , where tensions have boiled over between Uyghurs and Han Chinese . The Han Chinese are the country 's dominant ethnic group , and the Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority who consider Xinjiang their homeland . Ethnic Uyghurs have been blamed for the alleged syringe stabbings , and demonstrators clashed with police in Urumqi for two days this week over the issue . Protesters were demanding better police protection and a crackdown on the Uyghurs . The latest unrest left five people dead and 14 injured , according to Urumqi 's deputy mayor , and the Communist party chief in the city has been dismissed from his job amid the crisis , according to state-run media reported . Watch report on unrest in Urumqi from CNN 's John Vause '' The Urumqi Public Prosecutors Office on Saturday said four ethnic Uyghurs were arrested in connection with
URUMQI , China -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Reports of alleged syringe stabbings in a restive western Chinese city are generating a bit of panic , but doctors say some people have incorrectly concluded they were attacked with needles . People 's Armed Police units equipped with armored personnel carriers take positions in Urumqi on Saturday . `` In the patients we have seen in the last couple of days , there are many which we believe were not actually punctured with needles , '' Wang Hanbin , a Peoples ' Liberation Army doctor examining people in Urumqi , told reporters on Saturday at a briefing . Wang said about 20 cases are being investigated closely and samples were being taken to laboratories in Beijing for more testing . But , he said , `` many of the patients we have seen were mainly influenced by psychological factors . '' Wang , a member of a six-person military medical panel reviewing the syringe-stabbing claims , attributes the false reports to widespread fear and lack of medical knowledge . `` Many of the patients did not actually see their attacker or the act of others attacking them with needles . Some patients