Hundreds held as Tibet exiles, Nepal police clash

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepali police detained 760 Tibetan exiles in renewed crackdowns against protests outside the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu on Thursday, police and witnesses said.

Hundreds of angry protesters, wearing yellow jackets and head bands emblazoned with the words "Save Tibet" and "Free Tibet", converged on the outer walls of the Chinese embassy's consular office in the Nepali capital.

Protesters scuffled with police who blocked their path outside the embassy office. Hundreds of detained protesters were carried away in police trucks, witnesses said.

"This is a peaceful demonstration," said Tibetan exile Dawa Tshering, 28. "We are fighting for peace in Tibet."

Kathmandu regards Tibet as part of China, its influential neighbor and trading partner, and has cracked down on regular anti-China protests over the past five months.

Nepali police said the refugees were detained for opposing the Chinese crackdown in Tibet in March and would be freed later on Thursday.

Nepal is home to more than 20,000 Tibetans. Thousands fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

Last Friday, authorities detained more than 1,300 Tibetans who protested in Kathmandu as the Olympic Games opened in Beijing.

About 700 Tibetans marched through the narrow lanes of Dharamsala, headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile in northern India and spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, on Thursday protesting against China staging the Olympics.

"There will be more and more protests, certainly through the Olympics and the movement will grow stronger," said Tenzin Choeying, a Tibetan protester.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma and Abhishek Madhukar in Dharamsala; Editing by Bappa Majumdar and Paul Tait)

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