By David Eimer in Beijing
Burnt-out overturned cars were scattered along the streets of central Lhasa on Saturday morning.
Along with still smouldering shops they had been set alight by protestors on Friday night - a clear sign of the scale of the violence of the demonstrations, as well as the anger of Tibetans who are demanding an end to Chinese rule. The normally picture-postcard setting of the Tibetan capital had been transformed into something akin to a war zone. And like all war zones, there were reports that some, perhaps many, were dead. Two separate witnesses said more than 100 Tibetans had been killed. Plumes of smoke rose above Lhasa's buildings yesterday, as eyewitnesses reported that soldiers from the Chinese army, the PLA, had replaced police on the streets. The troops had formed a cordon around the Barkhor neighbourhood, the historic old quarter of Lhasa and the site of the protests, to prevent people from entering or leaving the area. Tanks and armoured vehicles, sporadically firing tear gas, rumbled down streets normally packed with visiting Tibet pilgrims. |
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