BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Foreign Ministry has lodged a protest with the United States for its condemnation of the deportation of a group of Uighurs from Thailand last week, as state television showed pictures of some being returned with hoods on their heads.
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Uighurs keen to escape unrest in China’s western Xinjiang region, have travelled clandestinely via Southeast Asia to Turkey.
China is home to about 20 million Muslims spread across its vast territory, only a portion of whom are Uighurs, who speak a Turkic language.
The deportation of 109 Uighurs from Thailand this week has sparked anger in Turkey, home to a large Uighur diaspora, and deep concern among rights groups and the United States, due to fears they could be mistreated upon their return.
