Tibet protestors wounded by gunfire, China admits
Thursday, 20 Mar 2008 20:20
China admits Tibetan protestors have been shot at
Ethnic Tibetans demanding greater autonomy for their homeland have been shot and wounded by Chinese troops, Beijing has admitted.
State news agency Xinhua reported four protestors, labelled "mobsters", had been wounded in Aba county in Sichuan.
The admission represents the first time Chinese authorities have themselves accepted security forces using live ammunition have opened fire on protestors and that unrest has spread outside Tibet itself.
Xinhua initially said the four demonstrators had been killed by gunfire, although the line that Chinese troops were acting in "self defence" has not been revised.
Beijing claimed earlier this week that 13 "innocent civilians" – ethnic Han Chinese – were killed in anti-government riots in Tibet's capital Lhasa.
A German journalist claiming to be the last western reporter to be expelled from Lhasa says thousands of troops have poured into the city in the last 24 hours.
The Dalai Lama said on Thursday he was prepared to talk to Chinese president Hu Jintao.
But China condemned the exiled Tibetan leader's "splittist" agenda and repeated accusations he was behind the protests.
Earlier authorities announced the arrest of 24 people during protests in Lhasa.
Protests have been taking place since March 10th, as the people of Tibet demonstrate against Chinese rule and mark the anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising.