Beijing, June 12 (ANI): China has urged the U.S. to repatriate Uighur “terrorist suspects” soon, after the tiny pacific nation of Palau agreed to temporarily resettle up to 17 detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

Talking to reporters here on Thursday Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, said, “China urges the U.S. to implement the U.N. Security Council’s relevant resolutions and its international obligations on counter-terrorism.” “The U.S. should stop handing over terrorist suspects to any third country so as to repatriate them to China at an early date,” he added.

The detainees were captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001 shortly after the invasion of Afghanistan and handed over to the US military. After years of confinement at Guantanamo, the US government determined the Uighurs were not “enemy combatants” and decided they should be released.

US President Barack Obama has been eager to resettle the Chinese Muslims since vowing to shut the notorious jail by January 2010. The facility was dogged by reports of torture during the Bush administration.

However, Beijing disagrees with the US finding them innocent, saying the detainees are members of extremist groups trying to separate Xinjiang from China, the China Daily reported. (ANI)