(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) A Chinese court on Monday sentenced eight people to death in connection with two deadly terrorist attacks in April and May in northwest China's Muslim-majority Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Intermediate People's Court of Urumqi sentenced another five to death with a two-year reprieve, and four others were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, according to the report.
Xinjiang saw its bloodiest day in five years on May 22 when 39 people were killed and 94 injured in an attack on a market in the regional capital of Urumqi. Also on April 30, three people were killed and 79 were injured in an attack at a railway station in the city.
Investigations found the April 30 violence was jointly organized and premeditated by terrorists both in and outside China, the report said.
About 41.5 percent of Xinjiang's 21 million population are Uygurs, a largely Muslim ethnic group. Located in a volatile region, Xinjiang has been battling separatism, extremism and terrorism since China took control of the area in 1949. During its most deadly unrest in decades, 197 people were killed and about 1,700 others injured in the July 2009 riot.
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