On September 30, 2006 Chinese forces opened fire on a group of approximately 70 Tibetan refugees attempting to escape Tibet through the Nangpa Pass into Nepal. Video footage captured by foreign mountaineers from nearby Cho Oyu advanced Everest base camp show Chinese border patrol guards aiming and firing at the line of defenseless Tibetans. Kelsang Namtso, a seventeen year old nun, was shot dead, and twenty year-old Kunsang Namgyal is also feared dead. The Chinese government's perpetration of human rights abuses in Tibet was exposed to the global community at a time when China is trying to show a respectable face to the world. Click here to read eye witness accounts of the shootings at Nangpa Pass.

While over 40 members of the group managed to escapee through the deep snow at an elevation of 19,000 feet and cross into Nepal, at least 32 Tibetans from the group, including 14 children, are reported to have been detained by the border patrol; their whereabouts remains unknown. Despite widespread media attention and foreign diplomatic pressure, China continues to defend the shootings and refuses to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident.

Students for a Free Tibet is stepping up the campaign for the release of all those detained in conjunction with the Nangpa Pass shootings (see below for names and ages of some of those known to have been detained). We are also demanding an immediate end to the attacks by Chinese border patrol on Tibetan refugees.

Click here now to learn more about how you can take part in the November 30th: Global Day of Action for the Release of the Nangpa Detainees.

The following are the names of some of the individuals known to be missing, including children as young as seven years old. It is believed they are being detained by the Chinese authorities in violation of Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, and most notably the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which China is a signatory.

Tenwang, age 7
Lhakpa Dolma, age 8
Dhondup Lhamo, age 9
Karma Tsethar, age 9
Dechen Dolma, age 10
Sonam Phuntsok, age 10
Wangchen, age 11
Tsedon, age 12
Sonam Wangdue, age 13
Ming Shomo, age 13
Lodoe Nyima, age 15
Jigme Phuntsok, age 15
Jamyang Tsetan, age 16
Karma Tsetan, age 16
Lodoe Namkha, age 16
Jampel Tsetan, age 16
Karma, age 19
Samten, age 19
Gatsok, age 19
 Dhondup Palden, age 21
Sonam Palzom, age 22
Kusang Namgyal, age 22 (shot in the leg, medical condition unknown)
Lobsang Paljor, age 33
Tsering Choegyal, age 33 (monk)