US alarmed by "arbitrary, unjust" detention of over 1 mn Uighurs in China: official

The US is alarmed by the "arbitrary and unjust" detention of more than one million Uighur Muslims in China's Xinjiang province, a top official has said, demanding an end to human rights abuses against the ethnic and religious minorities.

State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told reporters it was important to speak up for the victims of China's massive campaign of repression against Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang province in the holy month of Ramzan.

"The United States is alarmed by the arbitrary and unjust detention of more than 1 million people; widespread reports of torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment; ever-present, high-tech surveillance; and coerced practices contrary to people's faiths," Ortagus said Wednesday.

Her remarks came after 'The Washington Post' in a news dispatch from Beijing reported that the Chinese authorities were bullying members of the Muslim minority Uighur community to eat and drink before sundown in violation of