Uyghur Activists Want Biden Admin To Press China for Answers on Deadly Building Fire

Uyghur activists are demanding that the Biden administration extract details from China about the fire that the Chinese government says killed 10 people trapped in a building, alleging that the true number of deaths is far higher due to China's coronavirus lockdowns.

"The Chinese government officially recorded 10 deaths," said Salih Hudayar, who heads a human rights group focused on China's genocide of the ethnic minority group. "Photos suggest the number of Uyghurs slain was much higher."

Social media posts and photos place the death toll at 44, said Hudayar, who on Monday led a protest outside the State Department in Washington, D.C. Residents reportedly couldn't escape their homes because their doors were bolted and barred for quarantine. Barricades at the building prevented fire trucks from getting close enough to fight the fire—video of the incident shows firefighters spraying water that failed to even reach the building. Huyadar said it took hours for help to arrive.

"Residents stated firefighters arrived three hours after the fire began," Hudayar said.