Chinese police 'raid Tibetan monastery' Published duration 23 April 2011

Chinese police have raided a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in western China, killing two people, rights campaigners have said.

The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) says an elderly man and woman were killed trying to prevent police arresting monks at the Kirti monastery.

Tension has been high since a monk set himself on fire last month in an apparent anti-government protest.

Foreigners have been prevented from travelling to the region.

'Beaten'

The US-based ICT said paramilitary police raided the monastery in Aba, in the Sichuan province, on Thursday night and detained more than 300 monks.

As the monks were being driven away, the police beat a group of people who had been standing vigil outside Kirti, resulting in the deaths of two Tibetans aged in their sixties, ICT said, citing exile groups in contact with people in the area.

"People had their arms and legs broken, one old woman had her leg broken in three places, and cloth was stuffed in their mouths to stifle their screams," an exiled Kirti monk was quoted as saying by the rights group.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify the account.