Thousands of Uyghur fighters, originally from China, joined the Syrian civil war, stating that generations of political persecution in their homeland motivated their decision to take up arms.

Thousands of Chinese-born Uyghur fighters fled China to fight in the Syrian civil war. They say generations of political persecution in China motivated them to take up arms. <p>Thousands of Chinese-born Uyghur fighters fled China to fight in the Syrian civil war. They say generations of political persecution in China motivated them to take up arms.</p><img src="https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5550919" />