Tibet issue: Fresh violence in southwest China

New Delhi: Fresh violence erupted on Friday in the Tibetan populated areas of South west China forcing police to fire warning shots.

Local authorities said the violence erupted when mobs attacked the seat of the Donggu township, seriously injuring a government official who was on an inspection tour of the town.

The Tibetan groups claimed police opened fire on a protest led by Buddhist monks demanding the release of two monks detained for possessing photographs of the Dalai Lama.

The protests come after the Chinese government claimed normalcy had been restored in Tibetan populated areas.

Asserting this claim, the Chinese government had earlier declared that Tibet would be open to foreign tourists from May 1.