China Cracks Down on Tibetan Rioters

Security forces begin house-by-house searches and arrests in Lhasa
By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2008 12:29 PM CDT
China Cracks Down on Tibetan Rioters
Chinese riot police and military stands guard on a street in Tongren, in China's Qinghai province, Sunday March 16, 2008. Protests spread from Tibet into three neighboring provinces.   (AP Photo)

Chinese authorities cracked down on Tibetan rioters today, conducting house-to-house searches in Lhasa ahead of the midnight deadline for rioters to turn themselves in. A convoy of four Chinese trucks marched 40 handcuffed prisoners through the city. The participants in the riots, the worst the region has seen in 20 years, have been promised possible clemency if they surrender voluntarily, reports the Times of London.

Chinese security forces are demanding to see Lhasa residential permits, and checking that each member matches an official identity card; failure to comply results in arrest. "No country would allow those offenders or criminals to escape the arm of justice and China is no exception," said the Tibetan governor. But riots are still spreading in neighboring provinces. (More Tibet stories.)

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