CHINA TO EXECUTE FIVE MORE

Five more people have been sentenced to death over ethnic violence in July in China’s Xinjiang region. The sentences bring to 22 the number of people condemned to die or executed over the unrest in the Xinjiang capital Urumqi, which pitted mainly Muslim Uighurs against China’s Han ethnic majority and left nearly 200 dead. The first executions last month of nine people for their roles in the violence drew sharp criticism from the United States, the European Union and rights groups concerned that the accused had not been guaranteed due process. Eight others were sentenced to death earlier last month. Most of those sentenced to death and executed before Wednesday’s sentencings have been Uighurs. In recent weeks, Chinese police have been rounding up suspects that fled Urumqi after the unrest, with the government reporting earlier this month that 94 fugitives had been brought into custody after fleeing.