China says 10 killed in Tibet riots

China today said at least 10 people were killed in riots in the Tibetan capital Lhasa during the fiercest pro-independence protests in two decades led by Buddhist monks in the remote Himalayan region, blotting the Communist nation's image ahead of the Olympics in August.

"The victims (who died yesterday) are all innocent civilians and they have been burnt to death," an official with the regional government was quoted as saying by China's state-run Xinhua news agency.

The victims include two hotel employees and two shop owners, the report said.

No foreigner was among the dead, it said, a day after the widespread violence rocked the mountainous capital following the largest demonstrations in two decades.

"We have not received any report that foreigners suffered injuries or death in the beating, smashing, looting and burning on Friday (yesterday)," an official with the Foreign Affairs Office of the regional government said.

Violent protests came ahead of the August 8-24 Beijing Olympics, which human rights organisations want to link with improvement in the Communist nation's rights situation and have been pressing the West to take up the issue with China.

China accused the groups associated with the Dalai Lama of having "masterminded" the violence in Lhasa.

The government of Tibet Autonomous Region said it had "enough evidence" to back its claim of "sabotage" and that it was "organised, premeditated and masterminded" by the Dalai "clique".

(Reporting by Raghavendra)