Chagdor Kyab shouted freedom slogans as he became 149th Tibetan to set themselves on fire
An Indian policewoman detains a Tibetan exile activist during a protest outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi on March 10 to commemorate the anniversary of the 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. (Photo by Prakash Singh/AFP)
A 16-year-old student in a Tibetan region of Gansu staged a self-immolation protest on May 2 against Chinese rule it has emerged.
A source inside Tibet told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that Chagdor Kyab from Bora Township, in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Amdo, set himself on fire near Bora monastery, a branch of Labrang Tashikyil monastery.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Chagdor Kyab, a student from a farming family, shouted "Tibet wants freedom" and "Let His Holiness the Dalai Lama come back to Tibet" while he burned.
While his body was on fire the teenager tried to run towards the Chinese government offices of Bora Township but he fell before reaching the offices. Chinese police and military swiftly arrived at the scene and extinguished the flames and took away the body, the source told RFA.
It was not clear whether Chagdor Kyab was alive or dead. The source in Tibet identified his mother as Dolma Tso and his father as Zoepa, farmers from Dardo in Bora Township.
Following the self-immolation, the local Chinese authorities imposed tight restrictions in the area, which made it difficult to obtain further information.
Since 2009 four Tibetans from Bora have self-immolated, and the May 2 protest brought to 149 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans living in China since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009. Of these, 125 are known to have died.
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