The French news agency AFP and Earthrise Alliance, a satellite imagery service, first reported in October that at least 45 Uyghur cemeteries had been destroyed since 2014. Roughly 60 additional missing grave sites were further identified by CNN after comparing satellite photographs taken of locations provided by Uyghur families over a number of years.

The Chinese government have not denied that they moved or destroyed the cemeteries. A spokesperson with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs interviewed told CNN that the citizens of Xinjiang have the freedom “to choose cemeteries, and funeral and burial methods.”

This statement was echoed in a press conference held on December 16 by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang. He added that locals supported China’s efforts to “fight terrorism and maintain stability” in the region.

Other officials have said that the cemeteries were moved “to meet the demand of city planning and promote construction.”

According to satellite images, some of the cemeteries appear to have been paved or built over. One, the Sultanim Cemetery, was reportedly flattened to create a parking lot. Relatives of the deceased were then allegedly given two weeks to register the location of the graves of their family members before relocation work began.

China critics in the region have accused the government of trying to mold the Muslim-practicing Uyghur populace into resembling its Han Chinese populace. To accomplish this goal, according to 2018 testimony released by the U.S. State Department, they held two million Chinese Muslim ethnic minorities in a network of concentration camps.

Leaked documents which became public knowledge in November included witness testimonies that revealed detainees at the camp had been tortured and forced to pledge their loyalty to the Chinese Communist party.

There have also been reports on the destruction of mosques in the region based on satellite imagery. In addition, millions of Chinese public servants have reportedly been sent into Uyghur family households to monitor their behavior.

The Chinese government strongly denies these allegations, saying the camps are vocational training centers with voluntary occupancy dedicated to ending religious extremism.

“People arrive and leave constantly… Most have already gone back to society,” China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region Chairman Shohrat Zakir told CNN in July.

Newsweek reached out to the American Chinese Embassy, but did not hear back by press time.