|
Two more Tibetans
killed by Chinese forces in Sichuan
Reuters, BEIJING
Two Tibetans in Chinaˇ¦s Sichuan Province were killed when security forces fired
on demonstrators, a Tibetan advocacy group said, raising the death toll in
several clashes over government controls to four since Monday.
The violence is likely to add to rising tensions in the rebellious Tibetan
highlands of Sichuan that border Tibet, where security forces have struggled to
maintain control over heavily Buddhist communities.
At least two people were shot dead and many were wounded during protests in Seda
County on Tuesday, the London-based Free Tibet group said late the same day.
ˇ§Locals describe the town as being under curfew: they have been told not to
leave their homes and they are now afraid that if they do they will be shot,ˇ¨
the group said in a statement.
Calls to the county government and public security bureau, about 680km west of
Sichuanˇ¦s capital of Chengdu, were not answered.
However, Xinhua news agency yesterday confirmed the clashes in Seda, saying
police were forced to open fire killing one ˇ§rioterˇ¨ when protesters attacked a
police station with gasoline bottles and stones.
ˇ§Police were forced to use force after efforts involving persuasion and
non-lethal weapon defense failed to disperse the mob,ˇ¨ Xinhua said, adding that
14 police officers were injured and 13 people were arrested.
The news agency earlier confirmed a separate clash on Monday in Luhuo Township,
called Drango or Draggo by Tibetans, in the western highlands of Sichuan near
Tibet.
It said one protester was killed and five police officers were hurt.
Free Tibet in a separate statement late on Tuesday said it had confirmed that at
least two Tibetans had been killed in Mondayˇ¦s incident in Luhuo and that it had
the names of 36 people wounded in the clash.
The group also said that troops fired teargas in a third location in Sichuan ˇX
Meruma Township, Aba County, called Ngaba County by Tibetans ˇX after people
protested.
Security forces have been on edge after 16 incidents of Tibetans setting
themselves on fire over the past year in response to resentment of Beijingˇ¦s
controls on religion.
Most of the incidents occurred in Sichuan. Some of the protesters have called
for the return of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Buddhist leader revered by many
Tibetans.
Other advocacy groups and a resident in a village near Luhuo had slightly
varying accounts of the incidents, which are difficult to verify because the
government restricts travel to Tibet and parts of Sichuan.
|
