The BBC is reporting that local residents outside the Kirti Monastery in Sichuan are engaged in a stand-off with security forces. There have been reports of a crackdown in the region after a monk at the monastery committed suicide in protest last month:
Local residents were reportedly trying to prevent police from detaining monks inside the Kirti monastery.
The area has been tense since last month, when a monk died after setting fire to himself.
Chinese officials have declined to comment so far. The area has previously seen other anti-government protests.
Pro-Tibetan groups report a deteriorating security situation in Aba County, known as Ngaba in Tibetan, where the monastery is based and where there are many ethnic Tibetans.
They report an increased military build-up, although it is difficult to independently verify these accounts.
