Mass killings in Tibet |
Mass killings took place in Lhasa, Ngaba County and Kandze County during the spring protests.
Incidents of lethal shootings against Tibetan protesters took place on at least four other occasions according to NGO and media reports.
Chinese officials have denied the deaths of Tibetan protesters and emphasise only the death of 18 Chinese civilians and 1 policeman during the unrest on 14 March 2008 in Lhasa.
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Ngaba shootings Chinese armed troops fired into a crowd of unarmed Tibetan civilians during a peaceful protest on 16 March 2008, killing at least 13 people including Lhundup Tso, a 16 year school girl. The police first shot tear gas into the crowd and then beat many of the protestors. Then they shot live rounds of ammunition into the crowd. Eight Tibetan bodies were brought to Kirti monastery for prayers. Photographs showing entry-exit bullet wounds on the corpses brought to Kirti monastery suggest the use of high-velocity weapons by the Chinese armed troops. |
Tongkor shootings
On 3 April 2008 troops fired upon protestors at Tongkor monastery in Kandze town, killing at least 14 people. The shooting took place as hundreds of monks and Tibetan civilians marched towards government buildings to protest against the arrest of two monks from Tongkor monastery. The monks had been arrested following a raid on the monastery after they had refused to take part in patriotic re-education sessions.
Lhasa
At least 80 Tibetans are believed to have died in Lhasa during the crackdown in March 2008. Several eye witnesses to the shootings in Lhasa claim that the bodies of those shot dead were removed from the streets by the military and the police. The bodies were not returned to relatives suggesting that authorities were conscious to destroy evidence of the deadly shootings.
Read an eye witness account of protests in Lhasa
