Two Tibetan teenagers self-immolate and die

GlobalPost

Two Tibetan teenagers died today after self-immolating in protest of China's occupation of Tibet.

Free Tibet reported: "Lobsang Kalsang, an 18-year-old monk, and Damchoek, a 17-year-old former monk, set themselves alight outside Kirti Monastery in Ngaba."

Free Radio Asia said witnesses heard the two denounce China's rule of Tibet as they burned. 

"Witnesses saw them run about 20 steps with their bodies on fire, and then they fell to the ground," two monks in India said, according to the BBC.

China's state media rarely reports on self-immolations. Activist say since March 2011, about 51 Tibetans have set fire to themselves. This number could not be confirmed.

Yesterday, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Beijing needed to "meet the legitimate grievances of the Tibetan people within China to protect their human rights, to protect their way of life, and to work on these issues through dialogue."

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