"We fired no gunshots," Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Government, told the press here on Saturday when asked about the unrest in Lhasa on Friday.

He also said the regional capital was not under the martial law.

Witnesses said violence broke out in Lhasa around 1:10 p.m. on Friday, as some people clashed with and stoned the local police around the Ramogia Monastery in the downtown area.

Some earlier media reports quoted unidentified local sources as saying that they had heard the sound of gunshots during the turmoil.

Qiangba Puncog called the unrest a "sabotage" activity organized and premeditated by the Dalai clique.

"We will severely deal with those who engage themselves in activities of splitting the nation in accordance with the law," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency March 15, 2008)