China criticized the United States on Friday for "unprovoked accusations" in calling on Beijing to account for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on prodemocracy protesters.

China sent in tanks to break up the student-led protests in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. It has never released a death toll, but estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand.

The United States "continues to call for an official accounting of the victims of these events, the release of those still serving Tiananmen-related sentences, and an end to the harassment and detention of those who wish to peacefully commemorate the anniversary," the U.S. State Department spokesman, John Kirby, said in a statement on Wednesday.