Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in Nepal

KATMANDU, Nepal — A Tibetan monk set himself on fire in Nepal's capital Tuesday in what is believed to be the latest protest against Chinese rule over their homeland.

The man set himself on fire near the Boudhanath shrine in the northeastern edge of Katmandu, police official Manoj Chetri said.

He was taken to the Tribhuwan University hospital in critical condition with much of his body burned.

The monk set himself on fire in an alley away from the crowd. Police and residents put out the flames with fire extinguishers and rushed him to the hospital.

Police were investigating but have not been able to identify him beyond that he is a Buddhist monk.

It is the second self-immolation of a Tibetan in Nepal this year. The Tibetan who self-immolated in February died.

Thousands of Tibetan refugees live in Nepal and many of them live around Boudhanath, which is surrounded by Buddhist monasteries.

More than 100 Tibetans in their ancestral homeland or nearby Chinese regions have self-immolated since 2011 to protest Chinese rule or to call for their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet. China says he is inciting the protests, which he denies.