URUMQI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The so-called "forced demolition of mosques" in Xinjiang is totally nonsense, an official of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said on Friday.

Commenting on the 2019 report on international religious freedom issued by the United States, which claims that Xinjiang is dismantling mosques, Mehmut Usman, director of the regional ethnic affairs commission, told a press conference that, as long as venues for religious activities are registered with the government under the law, they have legal status, and all their rights and interests are protected by law.

"Xinjiang has always attached great importance to the protection and repair of mosques, and the governments at all levels in Xinjiang have not only helped and supported the improvement of mosques, but also guaranteed the normal religious needs of religious believers," the official said.