Tibetan exiles: Protest Deaths near 140

Tibetan monks and nuns arrive for prayers during a peaceful demonstration at Buddha Park in Kathmandu March 23, 2008. China accused the Dalai Lama on Sunday of using unrest in Tibet to back demands for Tibetan independence ahead of the August Olympic Games in Beijing.

25 March 2008

DHARMSALA, India -The Tibetan government in exile says the death toll from the demonstrations in Tibet is about 140.

"While we have confirmed information on the death toll from the demonstrations so far, it has been extremely difficult to get the details," the Dalai Lama's exile government said in a message posted on its Web site Monday.

The group said the overall toll was "around 140," and it listed the names of 40 Tibetans killed in protests that started March 10.

Previously, the Dalai Lama's government said 99 protesters died. China has put the death toll at 22.