By SPA
Beijing : Shops were set on fire in violence in Tibet’s capital of Lhasa on Friday, witnesses said,
as the region was hit by a fresh wave of rare street protests, according to Reuters.
Chinese rule in remote, Buddhist Tibet has become a focus for critics ahead of the Beijing Olympics, with global marches this week to mark the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Communist rule spilling into Tibet itself.
Hundreds of people had again taken to Lhasa’s streets in defiance of Chinese authorities and despite a heavy police presence and reports of a lockdown on monasteries, sources with
knowledge of the region said.
“The police are everywhere,” said one cafe owner reached by phone in Lhasa. “There are big problems.”
A report from China’s Xinhua news agency cited witnesses as saying a number of shops were burnt and nearby businesses closed.