BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police in the northwestern province of Gansu have seized explosives, knives and one gun from six monasteries in an ethnically Tibetan part of the region, the official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.
"Police confiscated a gun, 10 kilograms of dynamite, five detonators and seven knives in one major monastery and five bullets in another," the report said, citing the provincial government.
Police also found five knives and 11 Tibetan flags in four monasteries in another ethnically Tibetan county in the province, it added.
Parts of Gansu have also been rocked by anti-Chinese protests, as has Tibet proper and other neighboring provinces with large Tibetan populations.
"So far, 2,204 people, including 519 monks, have surrendered to police in connection with the Gannan riots," Xinhua said, referring to a Tibetan part of Gansu affected by the unrest.
"Police have so far released 1,870 of those people, including 413 monks, who were guilty of only minor offences," it added. "Conditions in the prefecture had returned to normal, the local government said."
State television reported over the weekend that police had found firearms hidden throughout a Tibetan temple in southwestern Sichuan province.
Tibetans have been protesting against China's rule and calling for the return of the exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama.
Protesters have also disrupted the global torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
China has accused the Dalai Lama of orchestrating the violence in Tibet and other Tibetan areas of the country.
But the Dalai Lama has rejected the accusations, speaking out against the use of violence, calling for talks with China and backing the Beijing Games.
[Via the AP]
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