Chinese authorities have arrested 29 people during a crackdown on terrorists in the northwestern region of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region following a series of deadly attacks by extremists.

The Urumqi Evening News said Thursday the arrests were authorized by prosecutors in the capital of Urumqi.

It said those arrested were charged with crimes including incitement to separatism, organizing mobs to disturb social order, operating an illegal business, incitement to ethnic hatred, and ethnic discrimination.

The country has launched a one-year nationwide campaign against terrorism after a series of violent and deadly attacks by terrorists and religious extremists.

Yang Huanning, executive vice-minister of the public security, said the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region would be the main battlefield.

The move came after the May 22 bomb attack that claimed 43 lives and injured 94 residents at a morning marketplace in Urumqi.

So far this year, police have detained more than 200 terrorist suspects in 23 groups and found more than 200 explosive devices in Hotan, Kashgar and Aksu prefectures in southern Xinjiang where terrorism and religious extremism are active.

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