A court in China has sentenced two men to death over violent unrest in the ethnically divided western region of Xinjiang that left 21 people dead.

A court in China has sentenced two men to death over violent unrest in the ethnically divided western region of Xinjiang that left 21 people dead, state media said Monday.

China blamed the April 23 violence on "terrorists", a charge rights groups say is often used to justify the authorities' use of force against members of the Uighur minority.

The Intermediate People's Court in Xinjiang's Kashgar Prefecture sentenced Musa Hesen and Rehman Hupur to death for crimes including murder and taking part in a "terrorist group", state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Another three men accused of belonging to the group were given prison sentences ranging from nine years to life, Xinhua said.

All of the defendants reportedly confessed to their crimes in court.

A total of 19 suspects were arrested after the April incident in Kashgar's Bachu County, which saw gunfights break out leaving 15 police and community workers and six "terrorists" dead.

Xinjiang, a region about twice the size of Turkey, is home to around nine million ethnic Uighurs, many of whom complain of religious and cultural repression by Chinese authorities. The region is regularly hit by unrest.