China denies shooting Tibet monk
Posted: 02 March 2009 2103 hrs

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SHANGHAI - Chinese authorities on Monday denied police had shot a young Tibetan monk who tried to set himself on fire in the country's southwestern Sichuan Province, state media reported.

Chinese officials dismissed claims by activist groups that police shot the monk on Friday in the Tibetan-populated town of Aba, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Authorities said previously the monk embarked on his protest after officials banned prayers at his monastery.

The incident on Friday came amid reported protests across the Tibetan plateau ahead of the ultra-sensitive 50th anniversary on March 10 of a failed uprising against Chinese rule that led to the Dalai Lama's fleeing to India.

The monk, in his late 20s, was shot after dousing himself with petrol and setting himself alight, the London-based group Free Tibet said.

- AFP/ir