Report: One Tibetan dead in Chinese firing

BEIJING, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Chinese security forces fired on Tibetan protesters in western Sichuan province, killing at least one person, Free Tibet said.

The group, headquartered in London, said at least 30 more people were wounded in the incident Monday in the province's Draggo County (also called Drango).

It was not immediately clear what sparked the protest by the Tibetans or why Chinese forces opened fire.

Free Tibet identified the dead man as 49-yer-old Norpa Yonten from Norpa village in the county and said his body was taken to a nearby monastery. The province has a large population of Tibetans.

"There are reports that Tibetans around Draggo were arrested (earlier in the day) on suspicion of distributing leaflets and posters calling for freedom and the protest was a response to these arbitrary detentions," Free Tibet said.

Monday's incident was the largest violent confrontation in ethnic Tibetan areas of China since 2008, The New York Times reported, quoting two Tibetan rights groups and the Tibetan exile government.

Widespread violent protests in March 2008 against Chinese rule in Tibet, were put down by the military.

Two people were wounded Jan. 14 in a similar incident if authorities firing on protesters, the report said.

Such confrontations and rising casualties "underlines how the situation is escalating," Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden was quoted as saying.

There was no report on the Monday incident in the official Chinese media as government agencies remained closed in observance of the first day of Lunar New Year celebrations.

The Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India, where Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama lives, said in a statement it had confirmed one death in the shootings, adding there had been reports that as many has six may have died.

The Dalai Lama has been calling for more autonomy for Tibet than the current Chinese status of Tibet Autonomous Region. He has been living in exile in India since 1959 after a failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule.