China has blamed the Dalai Lama for plotting this week's protests by Buddhist monks in Tibet, which turned violent Friday and reportedly left two people dead.

The monks are protesting China's 58-year rule over the formerly independent mountain country.

In a dispatch from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, China's official Xinhua News Agency said authorities had evidence the protests were "organized, premeditated and masterminded" by the "Dalai clique."

The country accused the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader of trying to sabotage the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

China says the Games are not political, but activists, including those who criticize Chinese policy toward Tibet, are using the worldwide focus on the Games to highlight their causes.

Prior to the accusations, the Dalai Lama appealed to China not to use force against protesters and urged Tibetans not to use violence.

This mobile-device photo, made available by the Indian Branch of Students for a Free Tibet, shows pedestrians and protesters Friday in Sangchu County, Gansu Province, China.
(Indian Branch of Students for a Free Tibet/TCHRD/Associated Press)

Radio Free Asia reported Friday that troops, using both live ammunition and tear gas, fired on crowds of protesters, who had been setting fire to cars and shops in Lhasa.

The radio station, which is funded by the U.S. government, quoted witnesses as saying two bodies were seen lying on the ground in the Barkor area, a shopping district in Lhasa where the protests have been centred.

Hundreds of people had joined the monks, who have been protesting all week. But the rally turned violent when, according to witnesses, mobs began attacking cars and shops.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing issued an advisory to Americans, warning them to stay away from Lhasa, saying it had "received first-hand reports from American citizens in the city who report gunfire and other indications of violence."

Reports hard to verify

It is difficult to get independent verification of events in Tibet since China maintains rigid control over the area. Chinese authorities rarely let journalists visit Tibet, and it is only possible to interview people by phone.

Chinese authorities have yet to confirm the violence and there has been minimal coverage in the state-controlled media.

But according to the International Committee for Tibet — a London-based group — large forces of Chinese police and other security forces have surrounded three monasteries.

The group claims monks are no longer free to leave and that many have been arrested. As well, an unknown number have reportedly tried to kill themselves and begun hunger strikes demanding the Chinese forces withdraw from the sacred monasteries.

Pro-Tibet protests also erupted into violence in India and Nepal on Friday. Nepalese police scuffled with about 1,000 protesters, including dozens of Buddhist monks, in Katmandu. Indian police clashed with chanting protesters marching on the Chinese Embassy in New Dehli and arrested at least two dozen people.

With files from the Associated Press