China has acknowledged for the first time that anti-government
protests have spread outside Tibet, and announced arrests following the
riots in Lhasa.

The state run Xinhua news agency today reported
recent unrest in Sichuan and Gansu provinces, blaming supporters of the
Dalai Lama.

Thousands of armed police have flooded into the provinces and neighbouring Qinghai province amid sporadic demonstrations.

Witnesses
have also reported what appear to be large military convoys – up to two
kilometres long – driving towards Tibet in the last few days. One said
that the men inside were armed with automatic machine guns as well as
riot shields.

Markings and registration plates were removed,
but the vehicles appeared to be those normally used by the People’s
Liberation Army rather than by paramilitary police.

The
increasing concentration of security forces came as officials in Lhasa
began to parade those held in custody over the disturbances.

The
Tibet Daily reported that 24 people had been arrested for endangering
state security and other “grave crimes” connected with the riots.

Officials also issued a wanted list of 12 people caught by security cameras during the unrest.

They
said that 170 people had surrendered to police following an
announcement that those who did so by Monday night would be treated
leniently – while others would face harsh punishment.

Many have
been shown on state-controlled Tibet Television, with two men
confessing to taking part. One said he had done things he regretted
because he “believed other people’s rumours”, while another said a
crowd threatened to burn down his house if he did not join them.

The television station said detainees were remorseful and would help police to find other miscreants.

In
one sequence, paramilitary police marched suspects in handcuffs,
forcing one man’s head to a table as he signed and fingerprinted an
unidentified document at the prosecutors’ office.

Rights groups
are concerned that the authorities are targeting peaceful protesters as
well as rioters and warn that those charged will not receive a fair
trial.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said:
“There is every reason to fear for the safety of those recently
detained.”

Protests against the government started peacefully in
Lhasa a week and a half ago, but erupted into riots and attacks on Han
Chinese and Hui Muslims last Friday.

Outside Tibet, protests
have included attacks on several government buildings, but there are no
independent reports of attacks on individuals or private property.

The
government says 16 died in the unrest in Lhasa – including three
protestors who allegedly jumped from buildings while fleeing police –
while Tibetan exile groups say the tally is closer to 100 when other
provinces are included, mostly because of the crackdown.

Xinhua
reported protestors in Gansu and Sichuan burning down shops and
attacking schools and hospitals as well as police stations, with
Sichuan authorities claiming they had also beaten civilians, police and
officials in Aba, known in Tibetan as Ngawa.

There was no mention
of allegations from Tibetan exile groups that paramilitaries in Aba had
fired on protestors, killing several.

Overseas pro-Tibet groups
have released the names of alleged victims and graphic photographs of
several corpses, but it has been impossible to confirm their
authenticity because reporters are being prevented from travelling to
the region – although they are legally entitled to do so.

Zhang
Yusheng, a spokesman for the government in Gansu, said: “These
sabotages were organised and premeditated, and their roots were the
Dalai Clique, whose ulterior motive was to create unrest, disturb the
Beijing Olympics, destroy the peace and stability and separate the
country.”

There were claims today that several thousand monks and
lay people were protesting in Zeku county, Huangnan, Qinghai. In a
substantial diminution of rhetoric they were said to be calling not for
freedom but for “dialogue with the Sacred Dalai Lama, [and] the high
autonomous administration of Tibet”.

However, officers at Zeku
county police station told the Guardian they had nothing to say, while
a hotel in the county said it was not aware of disturbances.

The
Chinese foreign ministry. meanwhile, said it was “seriously concerned”
about a planned meeting between Gordon Brown and the Dalai Lama, and it
told the prime minister not to offer him support.

The Pope also called for dialogue between the two sides, warning: “Violence does not solve problems, but only aggravates them.”

But
Chinese authorities have stepped up attacks on the Dalai Lama, with
Tibet’s Communist party chief, Zhang Qingli, telling officials they
faced “a life-and-death battle” with “a wolf in monk’s robes” and his
followers.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader has denied
inciting unrest and today said he was willing to meet with China’s
leaders, including President Hu Jintao.

Yesterday he urged
activists to end a “confrontational” march to Tibet from India, fearing
a clash with Chinese troops at the border.

“He made it clear he cannot order them, but he appealed to them to stop,” said Tenzin Taklha, his personal secretary.