China: Security forces “open fire on Tibetan protesters” in Sichuan
This picture taken on October 19, 2011 shows a monk at a monastery in Shanba township in China’s Sichuan province. A Tibetan Buddhist lama in southwest China nervously dodges questions about a wave of self-immolations by clerics protesting religious repression in the region, saying his monks are forbidden even to speak about the issue.
Chinese security forces opened fire on hundreds of Tibetan protesters in Sichuan province, killing one man and injuring 31 people, according to the group Free Tibet.
According to the Guardian, Free Tibet said the Tibetans were protesting outside government offices Monday morning after the arrests of people handing out leaflets advocating freedom for Tibet.
The protest took place in a town called Luhuo, which Tibetans call Draggo, in southwestern Sichuan.
More from GlobalPost: Body of self-immolated Tibetan monk 'publicly paraded' in China
Free Tibet told the Guardian that the dead man was named as Yonten, aged 49, and the injured people included some monks.
The Guardian said it was unable to independently verify the allegations. Monday is the start of the Chinese New Year, the country's main national holiday, which means few people are at work.
At least 15 Tibetan monks and nuns are believed to have self-immolated in the past year, in protest of Chinese policies in Tibet. Many of the self-immolations have taken place in Sichuan's Aba county, a Tibetan region of the province.
Less than two weeks ago, Chinese security forces fired into a crowd of Tibetans in Aba that had tried to reclaim the body of a Tibetan man who set himself on fire.
Tibetan advocacy groups said that at least two people were hit by gunfire in the Aba incident, and one might have died.
More from GlobalPost: Tibetan self-immolates, sparking clashes