 Local authorities are reportedly holding hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and Muslims from other ethnic minorities in these camps, for the stated purpose of countering extremism and terrorism.It is estimated that the Chinese authorities may have detained hundreds of thousands to millions of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Hui (Muslims) and other ethnic Turkic Muslims, Christians, and also some foreign citizens such as Kazakhstanis to be kept in these secretive internment camps throughout the region.The United Nations and many international media reports have stated that more than 1 million people have been held in such "re-education camps" in recent years.