MOSCOW, January 20 (Sputnik) — Over 800 people, most of them attempting to join terrorist training camps, were prevented from illegally crossing the China-Vietnam border over the past year, South China Morning Post reported Tuesday.
The majority of the border trespassers were recruited by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which allegedly encouraged people to join jihad fighters overseas, Xinhua news agency reported Monday.
The ETIM is a separatist group founded by Uyghurs, a Muslim minority living primarily in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region.
Dilxat Rexit, a spokesperson for the World Uyghur Congress, claimed Uyghurs were forced to leave China and had no intention to join extremists abroad, according to media reports.
The news came as a Uyghur fugitive was detained by the Chinese police in a mountainous region of Pingxiang, shortly after two other Uyghurs were shot dead trying to cross the China-Vietnam border, local media reported Monday.
All three people intended to flee to Vietnam, a common route for Chinese citizens seeking to enter jihad training camps abroad, local media reported, citing the Chinese Public Security Ministry.
