Police seized a gun, explosives and banned Tibetan flags during searches of six monasteries in northwest China, a state news agency reported Tuesday, according to AP. Inspections were carried out Monday in Hezuo town of Gansu province, the Xinhua News Agency said, a Tibetan area that was the site of sympathy protests after monk-led demonstrations in Tibet's capital of Lhasa turned violent last month. A gun, 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of dynamite, five detonators and seven knives were seized at one major monastery in the town, Xinhua said, citing the provincial government. Five bullets were found in another. In nearby Xiahe county, police seized 11 Tibetan national flags from four monasteries, the agency said. China has previously reported seizing weapons from monasteries but has not offered proof besides police displays of guns and swords that were allegedly confiscated. The reports were impossible to verify. The reports build on Beijing's claims that anti-government protests in Tibet and other parts of western China were part of a violent campaign by Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and his supporters to overthrow Chinese rule in Tibet and sabotage the Beijing Olympics in August. Beijing has also accused Tibet independence forces of organizing suicide squads to launch violent attacks against China. Hundreds of Tibetans launched an anti-government protest in Hezuo last month. Demonstrators _ among them nomads on horseback whirling lassos _ stormed a government compound shouting «Free Tibet!» and raised the banned Tibetan flag above a school yard.
