On Monday, the state broadcaster China Central Television reported that a court had sentenced eight people to death for involvement in two attacks that killed 46 people earlier this year in the far western region of Xinjiang. The sentences, handed down by the Intermediate People's Court in Urumqi, represent the Chinese government's latest move in a harsh crackdown on unrest in the vast resource-rich region.

In one incident (pictured), assailants armed with knives and explosives attacked a train station in the regional capital, Urumqi, in April, killing one person and wounding 79 on the final day of a visit to the area by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Two assailants also died.

The following month, attackers killed 39 people and wounded 90 when they threw explosives and plowed two vehicles through a market in Urumqi, state media reported. Police killed four attackers on the scene.

In October, China sentenced another dozen people to die for their roles in a July melee with police that left up to 100 people dead. At least 200 people have died in a year of clashes and attacks in and around Xinjiang, including four people just last month in an attack on food stalls - and 11 assailants killed by police immediately after.

Beijing blames "separatists," but rights groups charge that China's repression of cultural and religious minorities has fueled unrest in Xinjiang, which borders Central Asia and is home to the Uighurs, a largely Muslim group who speak a Turkic language. Chinese authorities argue that the country's policies have boosted economic development in Xinjiang and that Beijing has upheld minority and religious rights in a country that has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups.

In September, China sentenced Uighur scholar and prominent dissident Ilhan Tohti to life in prison for "separatism."

mkg/mg (AFP, AP)