WASHINGTON - The US State Department is urging Thailand to protect about 200 ethnic Uighurs it says have been rescued by police from a camp in the nation's south.
Unknown nationality of Muslim migrant man holds his child as they rest inside a temporary shelter after they were detained at the Immigration Police Office in Songkhla on Friday. (EPA photo)
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf says the United States is concerned about the plight of the predominantly Muslim minority, but did not directly address the possibility of this group's repatriation to China.
Human Rights Watch is calling on Thailand to ensure the Uighurs are not forcibly sent back. It says they would face credible threats of torture in China.
The rights group says immigration officials raided a jungle camp holding 220 Uighurs in Songkhla on Thursday night. They include 82 children.
Human Rights Watch says a senior diplomat from China has flown to Songkhla to demand access to the Uighurs.