Chinese police ‘fire at Tibetan protesters demanding release of villager'
Residents were demanding release of villager 'arrested for refusing order to fly national flag'
Security forces fired into a crowd of Tibetan residents who were demanding the release of a fellow villager detained for protesting against orders to display the national flag, a US-backed broadcaster reported yesterday.
The report, citing unnamed local and exiled Tibetan sources, could not be independently confirmed.
Local Communist Party and government officials either could not be reached by phone or hung up shortly after answering.
The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) earlier reported that authorities had intensified the security presence in Biru county and nearby areas after residents refused orders to display Chinese flags to commemorate National Day on October 1.
The ICT, a Tibetan rights group, said government work teams had been sent to Biru, known as Driru in Tibetan, ahead of the national holiday to compel local Tibetan residents to fly the flag as part of an intensified effort to enforce loyalty to the party.