Police in China shot dead more protesters in Tibetan-inhabited areas as unrest spread, official media and an advocacy group said Wednesday, amid signs of a physical and virtual lockdown on the region, according to AFP.
China's Sichuan province, which has big populations of ethnic Tibetans, many of whom complain of severe repression, has been rocked by violent clashes this week — some of the worst since huge protests against Chinese rule in 2008.
There were indications on Wednesday, January 25 that the authorities were restricting movement and communications in the region as unrest spread. Phone numbers that previously worked were suddenly unavailable and a local said his town had been closed off by authorities.
The situation has prompted Lobsang Sangay, head of the India-based Tibetan government-in-exile, to call on the international community "to not remain passive" and "to intervene to prevent further bloodshed".
The unrest comes at a time of increasing tensions in Tibetan-inhabited areas, where at least 16 people have set themselves ablaze in less than a year — including four this month alone — over a lack of religious freedom.
In the latest bout of violence, police opened fire on a protest in Seda county on Tuesday, killing two protesters and injuring scores of others, according to the exiled Tibetan government and advocacy group Free Tibet. The incident came a day after security forces shot at a crowd of Tibetans protesting against religious repression in the nearby town of Luhuo, killing at least two and injuring more than 30, according to locals and rights groups.
