Leroy

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BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Deaths reported in Tibet protests

Deaths reported in Tibet protests
Rioters in the Tibetan city of Lhasa, 14/03
Stones were thrown and buildings burnt in Lhasa
Clashes between protesters and security forces in Tibet's main city of Lhasa have left at least two people dead, according to reports.

An emergency official told AFP news agency that many people had been hurt and an unspecified number had died.

The US-based Radio Free Asia quoted witnesses who said they had seen at least two bodies on Lhasa's streets.

Rallies have continued all week in what are said to be the largest protests against Beijing's rule in 20 years.

British journalist James Miles, in Lhasa, told the BBC that rioters had taken control of the city centre.

"Some of them are still attacking Chinese properties - shops, restaurants, owned by ethnic Chinese," he said.


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"Some of them are looting those shops, taking out the contents and throwing them on huge fires which they've lit in the street."

Another eyewitness said there were tanks on the street and he had seen people being carried away on stretchers.

Dalai Lama concerned

Radio Free Asia, which is funded by the US government, quoted one Lhasa resident as saying: "[The rioters] ransacked Chinese shops and the police fired live ammunition into the crowd. No-one is allowed to move around in Lhasa now."

The rallies began earlier this week when a number of Buddhist monks were reportedly arrested after a march marking the 49th anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.

Hundreds of monks took to the streets to demand their release. The protests have gathered momentum over the past four days and campaign groups say ordinary people are now involved.

The Dalai Lama, who heads Tibet's government-in-exile in India, released a statement expressing deep concern.

He called on the Chinese leadership to "stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people."

He added: "I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence."

Chinese authorities have blamed "the recent sabotage in Lhasa" on the "Dalai clique".

Unrest has spread to other areas of Tibet and neighbouring provinces. There are reports of hundreds of monks rallying in Gansu.

The situation is causing concern among Western governments - with senior US and European officials urging both sides to show restraint.

Call for dialogue

The European Union issued a statement urging China to address the concerns of Tibetans.

"We would like to see some kind of reconciliation between the Chinese authorities and the Tibetan representatives," said Dimitrij Rupel, foreign minister of Slovenia, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.



British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Europe would be "seeking clarification" on the events in Lhasa.

"There are two messages, one is the need for restraint, the other is that substantive dialogue is the only way forward," Mr Miliband said.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said France was not backing a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games, but added: "France can draw attention to the link between the Olympic Games and this Tibetan aspiration, which China has to take into account."

China says Tibet has always been part of its territory - though Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before the 20th Century and many Tibetans remain loyal to the Dalai Lama, who fled in 1959.

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Dangar^

Ignorance is bliss

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Leroy

BBC NEWS | Africa | Chad rebels dismiss peace accord

Chad rebels dismiss peace accord

Chad rebels dismiss peace accord
Chadian rebels - file photo
Chadian rebels attacked the country's capital last month
Chadian rebels have dismissed a peace agreement between Chad and Sudan, saying they will continue their campaign to overthrow Chad's president.

The presidents of Chad and Sudan signed an accord on Thursday aimed at ending hostilities between the two countries.

A senior commander of the joint UN-Africa Union force in Darfur said the deal will not work unless rebels from both countries are included.

Meanwhile, the UN said it is returning many more refugees to South Sudan.

A spokesman for the Chadian rebel National Alliance said the non-aggression pact signed by Chad's President Idriss Deby and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir did not concern them.

They want talks with Chad's president, said Ali Gadaye.

"If Deby doesn't want dialogue, then we're going to chase him out by force."

Attempted coup

In their accord, the presidents of Chad and Sudan agreed to stop armed groups from using their respective territories to attack their neighbour.

In Sudan's West Darfur, bordering eastern Chad, the commander of the joint UN-AU peacekeeping force said the agreement will not have any impact unless the rebels are brought into negotiations.

Map of Chad, Darfur and CAR
As soon as rebels start fighting, Brig Gen Balla Kaita told the BBC, "nobody will know if it's between rebels and their government or is it going to be between the two countries".

The peace accord was mediated by Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade and was signed on the sidelines of an Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Senegal's capital Dakar.

Just hours before it was signed, Chad accused Sudan of sending heavily armed columns of Chadian rebels across its border. There has been no independent confirmation of any crossing.

It is the sixth deal in five years and the war of words between the two sides is highly unlikely to end with the signing of the agreement, says the BBC's Will Ross in Dakar.

Chadian troops fought off an attempted coup last month in a fierce two-day battle in the capital N'Djamena.

Southern repatriations

At least 200,000 people have died and more than two million displaced in five years of conflict in Darfur.

Many refugees have crossed into Chad where a European Union force has recently deployed to protect them.

In South Sudan, the United Nations refugee agency said there is a growing desire among refugees from South Sudan to return home in time for a census next month.

The UN said 3,000 refugees a week had been repatriated to South Sudan from Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia since January - up from 600 a week.

A national census in April is being held to prepare for Sudan's first democratic election in 23 years, due in 2009.

A referendum on whether South Sudan should secede is due two years later.

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