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<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7307382.stm>
Last Updated: Thursday, 20 March 2008, 17:56 GMT
Police 'shot at Tibet protesters'
Picture published by Tibetan monks in Dharamsala, allegedly showing a crowd gathered around the bodies of demonstrators 
said to have been killed during a protest in Aba on 16/3/08
Tibetan activists say police killed protesters in Aba on Sunday
Chinese police opened fire and wounded four protesters "in self-defence" last Sunday in a Tibetan area of Sichuan 
province, the Xinhua news agency says.

It is the first time China has admitted injuring anyone since anti-Chinese 
protests in Tibet began last week.

Xinhua said police opened fire in Aba county - the same place that Tibetan activists said eight people were killed 
during protests near Kirti monastery.

Activists released graphic photos of dead bodies showing bullet wounds.

China has said that only 13 people have been killed during the protests, and that all were innocent and killed by 
"rioters" in Lhasa.

The Tibetan government in exile has said at least 99 people have died so far, including 80 in Lhasa - and have accused 
the security forces of firing on crowds.

Earlier on Thursday, China admitted for the first time that the protests had spread outside the Tibetan Autonomous 
Region to nearby provinces in south-western China where large numbers of ethnic Tibetans live.

'Monks protest'

Citing police sources, Xinhua said police had opened fire "in self-defence" during Sunday's unrest in Aba, close to 
Sichuan's border with Qinghai province.

An earlier Xinhua report had said the police had shot dead four rioters, but 
it was quickly corrected.

        
ALLEGED SICHUAN SHOOTINGS
Picture published by Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, allegedly 
showing riot police in Aba on 16/3/08

In pictures: Shooting claims (Warning: Graphic content)

The state-owned news agency had previously said only that "mobsters" had caused "great damage" to shops and government 
offices in the area.

Xinhua did not provide further details of the incident, but Tibetan activists have said at least eight people were 
killed at a demonstration against Chinese rule near the Kirti monastery in Aba on Sunday.

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy circulated photos earlier this week of dead bodies with apparent 
gunshot wounds, which it said were the result of police firing indiscriminately at those attending the protest.

The group said many of the victims were monks who had joined thousands of others to demand independence for Tibet and 
the return of the Dalai Lama. Chinese police are deployed around the monastery to deter further protests, it said.

Crackdown

The BBC's China editor, Shirong Chen, says the situation in parts of western China is now extremely tense, with security 
being ratcheted up and many arrests.

        
TIBETAN PROTESTS
Map
Tibet: Protests began in Lhasa on 10 March, dozens reported dead over weekend
Gansu: Unrest spread to Machu, where Tibetan government in exile says 19 died, and near Hezuo, where protesters were 
filmed tearing down Tibetan flag
Sichuan: State media says four people 'shot and wounded' by police in Aba
Qinghai: Other unrest reported

Key events and places
Tibet's unsettled borders
Gansu streets deserted
In pictures: Troops go in

Hundreds of troops have been seen pouring into Tibetan areas. On Wednesday alone, BBC reporters saw more than 400 troop 
carriers and other vehicles on the main road - the largest mobilisation witnessed since the unrest began.

The authorities have also placed strict limits on Western journalists trying to report on the unrest. A German 
journalist who was forced out of Lhasa on Thursday said security forces had told him he was the last foreign journalist 
in the city.

And officials said 24 people had been arrested after demonstrations in the Tibetan city of Lhasa, and 170 protesters had 
surrendered to authorities. The authorities had threatened "harsh punishments" for those who failed to meet a Monday 
deadline.

Earlier, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, reiterated his willingness to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao 
if he received "concrete indications" of what the Chinese government can offer.

But senior Chinese officials have repeatedly accused him of orchestrating the protests from his base in the Indian town 
of Dharamsala, and the foreign ministry once again labelled him a "splittist" on Thursday.
                
VIDEO AND AUDIO NEWS
Clash that 'sparked' Tibet's violent protests



TENSION IN TIBET

KEY STORIES

China steps up Tibetan crackdown
Dalai Lama urges Tibet dialogue
Tibet kept on Olympic torch route
UN calls for restraint in Tibet

FEATURES AND ANALYSIS

Tibetan Buddhist monks in exile shout anti-China slogans at a protest in 
Dharamsala, India China's quandary
Could Tibet gain independence or greater autonomy?

China cracks down on news
Streets deserted in Gansu
Dalai Lama's home off-limits
Tibet's unsettled borders

VIDEO REPORTS
Protester on horseback Protesters defiant in Tibet row
watch Dalai Lama
watch Wen Jiabao

BACKGROUND

Key places and events
Guide: Inside Tibet
Q&A: China and Tibet
Profile: The Dalai Lama

EYEWITNESS

Tibetans describe unrest
Chinese react to violence
Lhasa now 'in cinders'
Monk 'kicked to the floor'

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