China has executed nine men for participating in ethnic rioting in the country's northwest that left almost 200 people dead.

The China News Services, a state-owned outlet, reported Monday that the nine had been put to death recently, but no specific date was given.

The nine people were convicted on charges of murder and other crimes. Their sentences were recently reviewed by the Supreme People's Court, a requirement under Chinese law.

Earlier reports suggested the nine executed men included eight Uighurs and one Han.

State media also said Monday that 20 people were indicted on charges in the deaths of 18 people amid the unrest in the northwestern province of Xinjiang.

Uighurs are an ethnically Turkic, predominantly Muslim group who make up the majority in the Xinjiang. Many Uighurs accuse the Chinese government of oppressing their home region.

Protests started in early July in the provincial capital of Urumqi when demonstrators gathered to demand justice for two Uighurs killed in June during a fight with their Han co-workers at a factory in southern China.

The demonstration turned into a riot, as armed Uighur mobs clashed with police and passersby. They also set ablaze or otherwise damaged hundreds of vehicles, stores and street vendor stalls.

In response to the riot, hundreds of Han Chinese — the majority ethnic group in the country — rampaged through the city two days later with sticks and meat cleavers, looking for Uighurs and revenge.

The unrest then spread to other cities in the region.

'Political verdict,' says Uighur group

A Uighur activist claimed the executions were meant to appease angry Han residents of Urumqi.

"We don't think they got a fair trial, and we believe this was a political verdict," said Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress.

"The United States and the European Union did not put any pressure on China or seek to intervene, and for that we are extremely disappointed," he said.