Seventy suspects have been arrested in Huangnan in Northwest China's Qinghai province in connection with a series of self-immolations that have taken place since November, a senior police officer said on Thursday.

Lyu Benqian, deputy chief of the Qinghai Public Security Department, said 12 of the suspects were arrested over self-immolation cases in the Huangnan Tibetan autonomous prefecture. He said police will make more efforts to thoroughly investigate the cases and seriously punish those who incite innocent people to commit self-immolation.

The Dalai Lama clique masterminded and incited the self-immolations, said Lyu, who is also head of a special police team investigating the incidents. Personal information, such as photos of the victims, were sent overseas to promote the self-immolations, he added.