Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in China   

Beijing, Mar 16: A Tibetan Buddhist monk on Sunday set himself on fire in

's northwest Qinghai province which has witnessed a spate of self-immolation incidents in the recent past.

The monk hails from the Shaderi Monastery at Zekog County in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Huangnan, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

There is no information on his condition.

According to overseas Tibetan groups, over 120 Tibetans committed self immolation in the last few months, calling for the return of the Dalai Lama from exile in India.

Many Tibetans accuse the Chinese government of repressing their religion and culture.

China claims that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and benefit from better living standards linked to Chinese investment in underdeveloped Tibetan regions.

Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of inciting the self-immolations to promote Tibetan separatism.

He has, however, rejected it and said China must conduct a "serious investigation" into the self-immolations rather than placing the blame on him.

PTI