Nepal police beat pro-Tibet protesters, detain 230

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepali police kicked Tibetan protesters and beat them with batons on Sunday before detaining some 230 people marching to a Chinese consular office in Kathmandu, police and witnesses said.

At least two people were seen bleeding from their heads after a scuffle broke out with riot police trying to protect the walled Chinese office. At least 10 people were injured.

Police said they had rounded up 230 protesters for opposing the Chinese crackdown in Tibet in March and shouting "Long live the Dalai Lama" and "Shame, shame, China, shame". Monks and nuns were among those held.

Nepal is home to more than 20,000 Tibetans who fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. But the country bars them from engaging in political activities against Beijing.

Kathmandu says Tibet is part of China, its influential neighbour and trade partner, and has cracked down on near-daily protests against Beijing since the past five months.

Those detained are usually released the same day.

On Friday, authorities detained more than 1,300 Tibetans who protested in Kathmandu as the Olympic Games opened in Beijing.

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