2 Uyghurs dead in illegal border crossing

Two of three Uyghurs attempting to illegally cross into Vietnam from South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were shot dead by local police, media reported Monday.

The two Uyghurs were shot after they resisted arrest "violently" when they were asked to pull over by police officers on Sunday near a highway tollbooth in Pingxiang, a border city in Guangxi, according to China News Service.

The last suspect, who escaped the arrest, was captured by local police on Monday evening, reported China Central Television.

The Pingxiang Public Security Bureau has posted a wanted notice with a reward of 100,000 yuan ($16,076) to the public to help track down the fugitive.

The escaped man, reportedly speaking Uyghur language and carrying a knife, was recognized by a local resident when he ran past a residential area. The police then found the suspect one hour later, who was hiding on a hill in the residential area, local newspaper Guangxi Daily reported.

Local police in the Pingxiang, which borders Vietnam, began a crackdown against illegal border crossings in May 2014, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Xinhua also reported that some suspected terrorists have attempted to sneak across China's southwestern border to make their way to join jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

Authorities in Shanghai recently busted a ring of Turkish smugglers who helped sneak Uyghurs out of China in November 2014. The Uyghur suspects, including a wanted terrorist, have been put under criminal detention for organizing, leading and participating in terrorist organizations.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs vowed on Wednesday that the country will remain resolute in cracking down on illegal border crossings.