One eyewitness told of how large groups of people were setting fire to cars and shops and destroying anything of Chinese influence.

The US embassy in Beijing said US citizens had reported hearing gunfire.

Rallies have continued all week in what are thought to be the largest protests against Beijing’s rule in 20 years.

Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, released a statement expressing deep concern, saying the protests were a “manifestation of the deep-rooted resentment of the Tibetan people”.

The Dalai Lama, who heads Tibet’s government-in-exile in India, called on the Chinese leadership to stop using force and begin dialogue with the Tibetan people.

He also urged Tibetans not to resort to violence.

“As I have always said, unity and stability under brute force is at best a temporary solution. It is unrealistic to expect unity and stability under such a rule,” the statement said.

The US-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said at least one police car had been set on fire on Friday.

ICT spokeswoman Kate Saunders said her group had received reports that the marTromsikhangket in Barkhor Street – a busy commercial neighbourhood – was either on fire or had burnt down.

China says Tibet always part of its territory
But Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before 20th century
In 1950, China launched a military assault
Opposition to Chinese rule led to bloody uprising in 1959
Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled to India
“It seems that lay people have now become involved in the protests,” she said.

An eyewitness told the BBC there was a thick pall of smoke hanging over the city.

Another eyewitness said security forces and monks had clashed on Wednesday and several monks were beaten.

He said about 300 monks had tried to leave the Sera monastery to protest but security forces brandishing clubs stopped them and at least one monk was beaten to the ground.

The protests began earlier this week, when a number of monks were reportedly arrested after a march marking the 49th anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.

Hundreds of monks took to the streets to demand their release – and reports say tear gas was used to disperse them.

The police were reported to have sealed off the city’s three main monasteries on Thursday.

Correspondents say there is growing evidence that protests against Chinese rule are intensifying, despite assurances by Beijing on Thursday that the situation was under control.

China says Tibet has always been part of its territory, though Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before the twentieth century, and many Tibetans remain loyal to the Dalai Lama, who fled in 1959 and currently lives in exile in India.
.

Witnesses said tanks were patrolling the streets of Lhasa

Chinese authorities in Tibet have given rioters until Monday to surrender, state media report, after unrest that officials say has left 10 people dead. “The plot of the separatists will fail,” the head of Tibet’s government warned as clashes continued for another day in the main city, Lhasa.

Police used tear gas to disperse groups of protesters in the city center.

State media said those killed in earlier unrest were mainly business people who had been “burnt to death”.

James Miles, a British journalist in the city, said the rioting on Saturday morning was not on the same scale as Friday.

Tibetans were looting the few remaining shops which had not been attacked, and throwing rocks.

Security forces responded with occasional volleys of tear gas, but not a full scale assault, the journalist said.

‘Long-simmering resentment’

Lhasa had “reverted to calm” early Saturday, Xinhua reported, following the worst unrest there in nearly 20 years.

It said electricity and telephone services, which were cut for parts of Friday, were also being restored.

TIBET DIVIDE   China says Tibet always part of its territory Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before 20th century 1950: China launched a military assault Opposition to Chinese rule led to bloody uprising in 1959 Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled to India

“The plot of the separatists will fail. We will challenge them firmly, according to law,” said Tibetan government Chairman Qiangba Puncog, reported AFP news agency.

Police have cordoned off a few central sections of Lhasa and are on the lookout for signs of trouble, state media reported.

Witnesses reported seeing tanks on the street.

A regional government official told Xinhua: “The victims [of Friday's violence] are all innocent civilians, and they have been burnt to death.”

They included two hotel employees and two shop owners, according to the news agency.

A Tibetan in Lhasa told Reuters: “If there is blood today [Saturday] it will be ours.”

Western countries have expressed concern at the clashes, and the Americans called on the Chinese to act with restraint.

The violence erupted on the fifth day of largely peaceful protests that began on Monday’s anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.

Fires broke out near the famous Jokhang temple, one of the most sacred sites for Tibetan Buddhists, and Xinhua reported that shops, banks and hotels were destroyed.

‘Masterminded’

News agency pictures showed young men setting fire to a Chinese flag and throwing rocks, while state media said police had fired tear gas to disperse protesters.

One eyewitness reported seeing people being carried away on stretchers.

The demonstrations – like last those September in Burma – were initially led by Buddhist monks and then attracted crowds of ordinary people.

From exile in India, the Dalai Lama called for an end to the violence and urged China to “address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue”.

The authorities are braced to crack down on any repeat of Friday’s scenes

Xinhua cited the Tibet government as alleging the riots had been “organised, premeditated and masterminded by the Dalai clique”, which the spiritual leader denied.

Hollywood star Richard Gere – a Tibet activist – told the BBC he would support a boycott of the Beijing Olympics unless China granted basic freedoms to Tibetans.

BBC China editor Shirong Chen in Beijing says the Chinese government certainly does not want bloodshed five months before staging the Games.

On the other hand, it cannot allow the monks and other Tibetans to vent their anger in case this is seen as a sign of weakness, he says.

Many Tibetans claim their culture has been diluted or even destroyed by Beijing and they resent the local presence of Han Chinese, China’s biggest ethnic group.

China says Tibet has always been part of its territory – although Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before the 20th Century. Many Tibetans remain loyal to the Dalai Lama, who fled in 1959.