An 18-year-old Tibetan nun died after setting herself on fire, the latest in a string of self-immolations to protest China’s occupation of Tibet, according to the Free Tibet activist group.
Tenzin Choedon, 18, “was calling out slogans of protest against the Chinese government when she self-immolated,” according to the rights group.
The teen is the 23rd Tibetan to self-immolate in less than a year. There were six similar incidents this week. Most of those who have set themselves on fire were either Tibetan monks or nuns.
“Soldiers and police came immediately and took her away. Soldiers then surrounded the site and sealed it off,” the group added. It said she is believed to have been a part of the Mamae Nunnery in Aba prefecture of Sichuan Province, where another nun self-immolated last year.
“After that, soldiers surrounded the nunnery and sealed it off, and nothing more is known of the situation inside,” monks Losang Yeshe and Kanyag Tsering, who are based in Dharamsala, India, where the Dalai Lama also lives, said in a statement to Radio Free Asia.
The self-immolation comes just a few days after Chen Quanguo, the regional Chinese Communist Party head of Tibet, issued an alarming warning that officials should prepare themselves for “a war against secessionist sabotage,” according to the rights group.
“Instead of looking for ways to resolve Tibetan unhappiness with Chinese rule, the authorities are determined to stamp out protests,” Free Tibet added.
On Thursday, Chinese security forces shot and killed a Tibetan monk and his brother who were involved in protests, reported Radio Free Asia.
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