China has imposed a ban in the Xinjiang region, saying that people who wear veils, scarves and long beards are not allowed to board city buses to maintain peace and security.

The ban was issued for security reasons and will last until the scheduled athletics event on Aug. 20, according to Karamay Daily.

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Those who will not comply will be reported immediately to police, the paper said.

Authorities said there are five types of people who are prohibited from boarding buses in Karamay City: people who wear head scarves, veils, jilbab or loose-fitting clothes commonly worn by Muslims, clothes with the star or crescent moon emblems and men with long beards.

The crescent moon and star insignia are Islamic features seen on national flags and other Muslim infrastructures.

On the other hand, even though modern Muslim women are seen wearing casual clothes in China,  most of them, especially those in the Xinjiang region, started to wear full veils again.

In July, the police banned bus passengers in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi from possessing certain items, such as yogurt, water or cigarette lighters.

Hundreds of Xinjiang residents died because of the unrest that has been going on for the past 18 months.

The state media also reported "terrorists" killings in July.There were about 100 casualties, who were identified as attackers, and about 59 of whom were reportedly shot by the police.

Unfortunately, tight security makes it impossible for journalists to conduct further investigation on the casualties.

The government is facing criticism for its discriminatory policies against Xinjiang Muslims.

Human rights activists and exiled Uighur groups said the government's policies aim to provoke unrest among its people, but Beijing officials denied the allegations.

Alim Seytoff, president of Uyghur American Association, said the officials in Karamay city have been endorsing a discriminatory and racist policy that targets ordinary people.

Meanwhile, China stated that it wants to create an entirely independent state in Xinjiang, which will be called East Turkestan.

TagsXinjiang