China rejects allegations of detaining 1 mln Uighurs in camps in Xinjiang

GENEVA, Aug 13 (Reuters) - China rejected on Monday allegations raised by a U.N. panel that 1 million Uighurs may be held in internment camps in the Xinjiang autonomous region.

Gay McDougall, a member of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said on Friday it had received many credible reports that 1 million ethnic Uighurs in China are held in what resembles a "massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy, a sort of no rights zone."

China's delegation replied it has clamped down on "extremist and terrorist crimes" in Xinjiang in accordance with the law, and does not target any particular ethnic minority or seek 'de-Islamisation" of the far western region. "Those deceived by religious extremism ... shall be assisted by resettlement and re-education," it added.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

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