A Tibetan man died after setting himself alight on Friday in a remote area of north-western China in protest against Chinese rule, rights groups said, the latest such incident to hit the country.
The middle-aged man self-immolated in front of a Chinese military compound in Qinghai province’s Huangnan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said.
Security officers put out the flames within minutes, said the India-based group, which gave the man’s name as Tamding Thar and described him as a former nomad.
Another group, the London-based Free Tibet, said he died at the scene and up to 500 people protested to demand the return of his body, which authorities later released to his family. It gave his name as Tamdrinthar.
In a brief dispatch,
China’s official Xinhua news agency confirmed a person died of self-immolation in the province on Friday, but gave no details as to the victim’s identity or gender.
Authorities were investigating the incident, the report said.
Free Tibet said the act ‘was a clear and absolute rejection of Chinese rule: he set fire to himself at a location that represents to Tibetans the brutality of China’s occupation.’
Since March last
year, at least 38 people have set themselves on fire in Tibetan-inhabited areas of China in protest
at repressive government policies, according to activists.