Kathmandu: Police armed with bamboo sticks stopped a protest by Tibetan refugees and monks in front of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal today and arrested about 100 participants.

Chanting "Free Tibet" and "Cine s thieves leave our country," the protesters approached the visa office of the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu.

Police officers topped the protesters at the gate of the fortified compound and tried to push them away from the area When the demonstrators refused to leave, the officers shoved some 100 protesters into vans and trucks and drove them to detention centers. About 50 more protesters ran away.

Tibetans have been protesting near refugee camps or near the United Nations office in Kathmandu since March 10,but this was the first anti-Chinese rally near the Chinese Embassy.

Police at the scene said they had been ordered to not allow any protests or slogans against China, which Nepal's government considers an ally.

Police broke up at least two protests by Tibetan refugees, monks and their supporters on yesterday and arrested about 475 people, the UN said.

The UN human rights office has said it was "deeply concerned at the arbitrary arrests and detentions of several hundred individuals."

Nepal has not issued any statements on Beijing's crackdown on anti-Chinese protests in Tibet.

Nepal's border with China in the Himalayas is a key route for Tibetans fleeing Chinese rule in the region.

Thousands of Tibetan refugees live with relatives in Nepal or in camps funded by aid groups. Most of the refugees eventually move to India, where Tibet's government-in-exile and its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, are based.

Source : PTI