Casualties and Fatalities
China's official Xinhua News Agency reported on early Saturday, March 15, that 10 people to date had been burned to death by rioters, including two hotel employees and two shop owners. It also reported that the victims were all innocent civilians and that most of them were business people. It again reported on March 21 that, according to the Tibet regional government, 18 civilians and 1 police officer had been confirmed dead in the unrest by the night of Friday, March 15. In addition, the number of injured civilians rose to 382 from 325, 58 of whom were critically wounded. 241 police officers were injured, 23 of whom were critically wounded.
The Associated Press reported that at a press conference on Monday, March 17, Tibet Autonomous Region governor Champa Phuntsok announced that 16 had been confirmed dead over the weekend's violence and dozens injured. Other sources published after the same press conference indicate that China put the death toll in Lhasa at 13. The Associated Press claimed later that the Chinese government's official death toll from the previous week's rioting in Lhasa had risen to 22. Accordingly, the death toll provided by Xinhua had risen to 19.
Tibet's government-in-exile claimed to have confirmed at least 80 deaths.
According to James Miles, The Economist's correspondent in Lhasa, the police fatalities included both Tibetans and the Han ethnic group who were the target of much of the violence. Qiangba Puncog, the head of Tibet's regional government, said that Chinese police did not fire their guns or use anti-personnel weapons against the Tibetan protesters, even though the Tibetans wounded 61 police officers, including six seriously, and the Tibetan regional government reported that 13 innocent civilians had been killed by mobs.
According to a news source affiliated with a Tibetan exile group, the People's Armed Police had blocked off water, electricity, food and health facilities in Sera, Drepung and Ganden monasteries and others active in the demonstrations. As a consequence, monks were suffering starvation, and on March 25 one monk reportedly died from starvation at Ramoche Temple.
On March 28, IHT reported 5 shopgirls, Yang Dongmei, 24; He Xinxin, 20; Chen Jia, 19; Liu Yan, 22; Ciren Zhuoga, 21 had been burned alive when the rioters torched the Yishion clothing store where they worked. The IHT article noted Ciren Zhuoga was Tibetan.
On April 5, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) stated that the Chinese authorities arrested over 2,300 Tibetans from various parts of Tibet. According to the Tibetan Government in Exile, more than 140 people were killed in the crackdown on recent unrest.
On April 18, in an interview to Canadian journalists, it was reported that the Dalai Lama said that since the beginning of the demonstrations in Tibet at least 400 people had been killed and thousands of others arrested.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported that a Tibetan woman, 38, who was involved in peaceful protests on 16 and March 17, 2008 in Ngaba County, died after being tortured in a Chinese prison. Following her release, the government hospital, possibly under the influence of local Chinese authorities, had refused to admit her.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Tibetan Unrest