Explosion at Chinese government building in Tibet

A Chinese government building in a remote part of Tibet has been bombed, according to an overseas radio service. The blast left no injuries but adds to tensions after a number of people set themselves on fire in protest at Chinese rule.

Radio Free Asia, based in Washington, said the blast had struck a township government building on Wednesday in Changdu.

"In the early dawn hours of 26 October there was an explosion in a local government building," the radio service said on its website, citing an unnamed member of the Tibetan exile parliament, which is based in India.

"No casualties were reported," he said, according to the report. "This could be because no one stays in the building overnight. Walls of the building had also been painted with slogans in red calling for independence for Tibet and leaflets had been scattered in the area."

The area was under heavy security, the report said.

Chinese state-run media did not mention the reported incident. Repeated calls to government offices in Changdu – called Chamdo by Tibetans – went unanswered and a police officer said he had not heard of any blast.

If confirmed the incident could add to tensions in ethnic Tibetan areas, where many locals resent the presence of the Chinese government.

Tibetan areas in Sichuan province, which neighbours the official Tibet Autonomous Region, have been unsettled by a string of self-immolation protests by Buddhist monks and a nun in recent months.

In the latest such protest a monk doused himself in fuel and set himself ablaze on Tuesday, the 10th ethnic Tibetan this year to resort to the extreme form of protest, an overseas advocacy group said.