A young Tibetan man died on Monday after setting fire to himself in front of a crowd outside a Buddhist monastery in western China's Gansu province, the London-based Free Tibet organization reported.
Tsesung Kyab, 27, was the latest of more than 100 Tibetans to set fire to themselves during the last four years to protest China's rule of traditionally Tibetan areas.
The group published three photographs of the protest and quoted witnesses as saying Tsesung Kyab self-immolated early Monday afternoon outside the Shetsang Monastery in Gansu's Luchu county.
The photographs showed dozens of people in traditional Tibetan robes standing in an arc a few metres from Tsesung Kyab's burning body on open ground next to a prayer mast outside the monastery.
Free Tibet said many Tibetans visited the monastery on Monday because it was the last day of the Tibetan Molam, or lunar new year, festival.
The crowd prevented police from extinguishing the flames and later stopped them from taking away Tsesung Kyab's body, which was transported to his home village, the group said.
It said Tsesung Kyab was believed to be a cousin of a man who died after self-immolating on the same spot in December.
"China's heavy-handed response to self-immolations has failed to stem the tide of protest in Tibet," said Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden.
"The spirit of dissent among Tibetans is far stronger than China realizes," Brigden said.
"We can only expect that protests will continue to take place until Tibetans achieve the freedom they crave," she said.