Another Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in China

A rights group says a 19-year-old Tibetan monk has set himself on fire in western China, the latest in a series of self-immolations protesting China's handling of its vast ethnic Tibetan regions.

The London-based International Campaign for Tibet says Lobsang Gyatso, a monk from the Kirti monastery in Sichuan province's Aba prefecture, set himself ablaze on Aba's main street Monday afternoon.

The group says in an emailed statement that security forces beat Gyatso while extinguishing the flames, then took him away. It was not immediately clear whether he survived.

International Campaign for Tibet says 20 Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people have set themselves on fire in China over the past year, with at least 13 dying from their injuries.

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