It is not known exactly how many went. Most were civilians. But in 2017 Mr Assad’s ambassador to China said that between 4,000 and 5,000 Uyghurs were fighting in Syria.

China's top ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday stressed that China is "greatly concerned" over the Syrian Army "granting senior ranks to foreign terrorist fighters", including the ...

China is greatly concerned about the reports that said the Syrian army has recently granted senior military ranks to a number of foreign terrorist fighters, including the head of a Council-listed ...