VOA Tibetan received pictures of wounded Tibetans from Draggo protest Tuesday morning. The pictures show Tibetans wounded in last week's gunfire by Chinese Security forces in Draggo County (Ch: Luhuo County) in Kandze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Most pictures have not been published due to its graphic nature.
Tibetan advocacy groups and witnesses said that police in Sichuan province opened fire on several thousand unarmed Tibetan demonstrators January 23 in Draggo county.
"One person died on the scene, security forces took another who appeared to be fatally wounded and many were wounded and injured," sources told VOA Tibetan.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei last Tuesday called foreignorganization's reports on Draggo protest "hyped", saying the clash involved only "dozens of protesters." He said the unrest started when protesters began destroying stores and attacking police with rocks and knives.
The heavily Tibetan region of Sichuan has been hit by ongoing protests and a series of self-immolations by Tibetan Buddhists demanding an end to widely perceived religious and cultural repression by Chinese authorities.
The monks and their followers also are demanding the return of their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
At least 16 Tibetans, including monks, former monks and nuns, have died in self-immolation protests since March 2011. Thousands of monks subsequently were arrested by security forces and taken to unknown locations.