Washington (CNN) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday announced visa restrictions on Chinese officials suspected of being involved in the detention and human rights abuses of millions of Uyghur Muslims and other minority groups.

In a statement describing the "highly repressive campaign" of detention, mass surveillance, "draconian controls" on religious and cultural expression, and coercion, Pompeo announced "visa restrictions on Chinese government and Communist Party officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the detention or abuse of Uighurs, Kazakhs or other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang, China."

"Family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions," he added.

The statement did not specify how many or which officials would be targeted. A State Department spokesperson said that "visa records are confidential under U.S. law, therefore, we will not discuss or disclose individual applications of this visa policy."

"The United States calls on the People's Republic of China to immediately end its campaign of repression in Xinjiang, release all those arbitrarily detained, and cease efforts to coerce members of Chinese Muslim minority groups residing abroad to return to China to face an uncertain fate," Pompeo wrote. "The United States will continue to review its authorities to respond to these abuses."

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