Beijing - Chinese Security forces detained 500 members of the ethnic Uighur minority in the Xinjiang region over the past two weeks, Uighur activists said Monday.

More than 100 people were arrested in the desert town of Kashgar alone, the in-exile Uyghur World Congress said. The organization called on the international community to lodge protests with Beijing.

Many of the Muslim Uighurs are opposed to Chinese rule. Violence in Uighur towns near the Takla Makan desert in Xinjiang caused around 30 deaths over the past weeks.

Families of arrested persons were not informed about their relatives' whereabouts, the congress said. "Vanishing" people were, however, nothing unusual in Uighur territories, as arbitrary arrests by the Chinese army, police and intelligence services were common.

Xinjiang has witnessed a spate of deadly attacks, which analysts believe were timed to coincide with the August 8-24 Olympic Games in Beijing. China blamed Uighur terrorists and separatists.

Uighur groups warned of an increase in Chinese repression after the Olympics. (dpa)