Two Tibetan monks self-immolate during protest against China

Two young Tibetan monks self-immolated on Feb 25 as Tibetan New Year festivities wound to a close, in two separate incidents at monasteries packed tight for the holiday.

One monk in his early twenties named Phagmo Dundrup died at a monastery in Qinghai, said the International Campaign for Tibet, while Tsesung Kyab died at in Luchu County, which is located in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in China's Gansu province.

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According to ICT, Kyab was a relative of 23-year-old Pema Dorjee, who self immolated at the same monastery on Dec 8, 2012.

Dundrup was taken to the hospital with severe burns, wrote Asia News, while security forces have arrived at the monastery to prevent any similar attempts.

Last week, two Tibetan teenagers set themselves ablaze to denounce Chinese rule in the Aba prefecture of Sichuan province, according to both ICT and the Associated Press. They are among the youngest people to self-immolate to date in protest against China.

These latest self-immolations bring the total number of such deaths to 106 since 2009, largely in the name of Tibetan independence, wrote the Associated Press.

China continues to crack down on the practice with enhanced security and prison sentences, and blames the Dalai Lama for the uptick in self-immolations.