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BEIJING: China denied on Monday that foreigners had been ordered out of Tibet but advised against travel to the restive Himalayan region following a week of anti-Chinese violence.
"We have not asked foreign companies in Tibet to immediately leave the region," the chairman of Tibet's local government, Qiangba Puncog, told reporters at a hastily-called news conference in Beijing.
He had been asked to respond to reports that foreigners seeking entry to Tibet were being denied necessary permits.
"Because of the arson and murders which have taken place in Tibet, we do not advise foreign news organisations or foreign nationals to go to Tibet for safety reasons," he said.
Chinese police and People's Liberation Army soldiers have clamped a tight lid on Lhasa since Saturday, one day after protests against Chinese control of the region erupted into full-scale rioting.
"We have adopted temporary measures ... but calm has now returned to Lhasa. As the situation further improves, we will lift those measures," Qiangba said.
Qiangba said earlier that Tibetan rioters had killed 13 "innocent civilians" during the violent protests but denied using lethal force to quell the unrest.
Tibetan exiles said on the weekend that 80 Tibetans had been confirmed killed, and that possibly more than 100 had died.
Tour operators in the southwestern city of Chengdu, a major gateway to Tibet, told AFP Saturday that foreigners were not being allowed to enter Tibet.
The violence has posed a huge crisis for China as it builds up to the August Olympic Games amid growing pressure over Beijing's 57-year control of Tibet, human rights and other issues. - AFP/ac
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