More gunfire has been reported in the eastern Uzbek town of Andijan, days after a military crackdown there reportedly killed hundreds of people. The unrest on Monday night came as police and troops stepped up patrols in the city's streets. Last Friday, witnesses said soldiers tried to disperse an anti-government rally in Andijan by firing into the crowd. The unrest started when demonstrations over the trial of 23 local businessmen, accused of membership in an outlawed Islamist group, boiled over. But President Islam Karimov's government has long been accused of gross human right abuses and observers say the Uzbek authorities purge Muslims who do not follow state-sanctioned Islam.US-based watchdog Human Rights Watch estimates that this religious persecution has resulted in the unfair arrest and incarceration of around 7000 people. The Uzbek government has banned the call to prayer, and forbids any discussion of an Islamic state or Islamic law. Attendance at a mosque can result in arrest. There is no independent media in Uzbekistan and all state-run media is subject to heavy censorship. The Uzbek government justifies this campaign by saying that it needs to act against terrorism and places its actions in the context of the war against terrorism.