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NEW DELHI - Indian security forces guarding the latest leg of the protest-hit Beijing Olympics torch relay said Thursday they had been put on alert amid fears Tibetan demonstrators could set themselves on fire.
Officials said patrol cars along the relay route in the centre of New Delhi had been equipped with fire extinguishers and blankets, while fire engines had also been sent to the scene.
"We have deployed three fire trucks along the route to meet any eventuality or any untoward incident that may occur during the movement of the torch," a fire department spokesman told AFP.
Police authorities declined to give details of such precautions, but officers deployed along the main avenue where the relay was to be held said they had been armed with extinguishers.
"We are also carrying blankets and we have an ample supply of water at the venue to tackle emergencies," a police official said. "We cannot allow ugly scenes in front of dignitaries."
Radical Tibetan protesters refused to offer details of their planned anti-Olympic campaign.
India's capital has been barricaded and flooded with thousands of police and soldiers for the torch relay, on the most sensitive part of its global journey to date.
India is home to more than 100,000 Tibetan refugees, including the Dalai Lama -- Tibet's exiled spiritual leader -- and radical youth groups.
The Tibetan leadership-in-exile has urged that protests during the Indian leg of the relay be "non-violent" and not embarrass New Delhi. - AFP/ir
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