(dpa) - Chinese security forces opened fire on Tibetan protesters and killed at least three people, an exile group said Wednesday.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said from India that it received confirmation from multiple sources that three people were killed in the peaceful protests Tuesday in Kardze in Sichuan province, which borders Tibet.
On Tuesday, the group said at least 39 people were shot by Chinese troops in Aba in Sichuan and in Machu in the northern province of Gansu.
The Free Tibet Campaign also released photographs it said were taken at the Kirti monastery in Aba showing bodies with gunshot wounds.
Protests occurred not only in Kardze Tuesday, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said, but also in Gannan and Sangchu in Gansu.
Monks and other Tibetans demonstrated for independence for the Himalayan region and the return of the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's highest religious figure, the group said. Chinese security forces deployed tear gas in some places, it added.
Protests by Tibetans in and outside Tibet began March 10, the 49th anniversary of the failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule.