News reports from western China say a Buddhist monk died Monday after setting himself on fire in an apparent protest against an ongoing Chinese crackdown on Tibetan monks.

The death, confirmed by China’s official Xinhua news agency, occurred in an ethnic Tibetan area of Sichuan province known as Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

The London-based Free Tibet Network identified the monk as a 29-year-old, and said he doused himself with gasoline and set himself ablaze while shouting “long live the Dalai Lama.” China bans public veneration of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, whom Beijing accuses of seeking Tibetan independence.

Full story: VOANews.com

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