In the fourth such self-immolation this month, a Tibetan died after setting himself on fire in Gansu. From AP:
Free Tibet said Lhamo Kyeb, 27, died Saturday near a monastery in northwestern China’s Gansu province. Citing a witness, it said he set himself on fire and ran toward Bhora monastery in Xiahe county and that state security forces standing nearby ran after him and tried to put out the flames.
The witness said Lhamo Kyeb attempted to stop them from extinguishing the fire, forcing them to back away, and then he walked toward the monastery and fell to the ground.
The group said nearly 60 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since March 2011 to protest Chinese rule over the Himalayan region.
Calls to the county government and police rang unanswered Sunday. A man on duty at the prefectural government said he had no information.
While the exact number varies by source, close to 60 people have self-immolated since 2009 in protest against Beijing’s policies in Tibet, including another fatality on October 10. Read more about these incidents via CDT. See also a recent installment of Hexie Farm’s cartoon series for CDT in which he honors Tibetan self-immolators.
