China blankets areas of unrest with troops

Police opened fire and wounded four rioters “out of self defence” after the protesters attacked them with knives and tried to seize weapons in the Tibetan-inhabited Aba County in Sichuan province on Sunday, local public security bureau said.

Shaken by the large-scale protests, China has rushed more troops to Tibet and neighbouring provinces to contain the pro-independence movement and arrested 24 people for “endangering national security” in intensified crackdown.

Photos of 21 men wanted in connection with the Lhasa riots were posted on major Chinese Internet sites.

A resident in Qinghai province said about 300 troops were in the town of Zeku after monks protested Thursday outside the county government office. The woman, who did not want to give her name for fear authorities would harass her, said she did not dare leave her home and could not provide details of the demonstration.

Telephones at Zeku’s government and public security bureau rang unanswered.

In the largely Tibetan town of Zhongdian, in the far north of Yunnan province, some 30 armed police with batons marched in the main square as residents went about their daily life. Overnight, another two dozen trucks of riot police had arrived, adding to a presence of about 400 troops.

Patrols had also been set up in other nearby towns, including the tourist attraction of Tiger Leaping Gorge.

In Xiahe, a city in Gansu province where there were two days of protests last week, the 50-room Xilin Hotel was “completely occupied by police with guns and batons,” said a man who answered the telephone and did not want to give his name.

“No tourists are allowed here and we do not feel safe going outside,” the man said. He said things had calmed down but vehicles had been patrolling the streets asking protestors to turn themselves in.

Residents in Ganzi county in Sichuan province said they saw troops, trucks and helicopters on patrol.