Security forces have detained about 300 Tibetan monks from a monastery in southwestern China for a month amid a crackdown sparked by a monk's self-immolation, according to two exiled Tibetans and a prominent writer, citing sources there.
Tension in Aba prefecture, a heavily ethnic Tibetan part of Sichuan province, have risen to their highest levels since protests turned violent in March 2008, ahead of the Beijing Olympics, and were put down by police and paramilitary units.
The monks from Aba's Kirti monastery, home to about 2,500 monks, were taken into custody on 21 April on military trucks, according to two exiled monks and a writer, who said their information was based on separate accounts from witnesses who live in Aba.
The detentions come as China's ruling Communist party celebrates 60 years since the "peaceful liberation" of Tibet, and underscores the government's struggle to win the hearts and minds of Tibetan people across the country.