Tibetan monk dies after setting self on fire, latest in string of dozens of self-immolations

BEIJING, China – The self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile says an 18-year-old Tibetan monk has died after setting himself on fire, the latest in a string of dozens of self-immolations by Tibetans in the past 16 months.

The Dharamsala, India-based government-in-exile says Lobsang Lozin, from Gyalrong Tsodun Kirti Monastery, set himself on fire around noon Tuesday.

It says Lozin died and that local Tibetans have blocked a bridge to prevent police from moving in.

On March 30, two monks from the same monastery, located in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, died of self-immolation.

The International Campaign for Tibet says 42 Tibetans have self-immolated since March 2011.

Activists say the self-immolations are in protest of Beijing’s heavy-handed rule in the region. The Chinese government has confirmed some but not all of them.