China executed two accused Muslim separatists in the...

China executed two accused Muslim separatists in the far western region of Xinjiang, a state newspaper reported.
The two were taken to an execution ground and shot immediately after being sentenced at a public rally in the city of Yili on October 15, the Yili Evening News reported. It did not identify the men.
According to the East Turkestan Information Centre (ETIC), three other "splittists" were sentenced to death with two-year reprieves, and seven others to jail terms for "endangering the state's cardinal interests".
China considers ethnic Uighur militants agitating for an independent state of East Turkestan in Xinjiang a terrorist threat and appealed for international support for its campaign against them in the name of the "war on terrorism".
It says it has evidence linking Uighur militants with international "terrorist" groups.
In the wake of the September 11 attacks [on the US], China tightened security on its northwestern borders and launched a campaign in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, to clamp down on violent crime, including separatism and terrorism.
The ETIC, one of a small group of overseas organisations lobbying for the creation of the Uighur state, said someone it named as Abdulmejid was one of the five sentenced to death.
An ETIC spokesman said Abdulmejid was a leader of a "revolution" in the Yili border town of Yining in February 1997 that turned into a riot and left nine dead and more than 200 injured.
That incident and a series of bus bombs that killed nine more three weeks later in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, prompted police to crack down on separatist activity. Amnesty International said at least 190 ethnic Uighurs were executed between 1997 to 1999.