BEIJING (AP) – Scores of Buddhist monks in southwestern China are likely under police lock-down after marching in protest over a decades-old ban on prayers during the Tibetan New Year, Tibetan rights advocates said.

The report of Sunday's march — the latest incident in an apparent spike in acts of defiance against Chinese rule — comes amid tensions over harsh security measures authorities set up ahead of the sensitive two-week holiday and the upcoming anniversary of last year's deadly Tibetan riots.
China claims Tibet has always been part of its territory, but many Tibetans say the Himalayan region was virtually independent for centuries and that Beijing's tight control is draining them of their culture and identity.
The International Campaign for Tibet said Sunday's demonstration began when monks at the Sey monastery in the ethnically Tibetan county of Aba in Sichuan province gathered to observe a prayer ceremony called Monlam for the Tibetan New Year, which began last week.
China banned Monlam during the Cultural Revolution, when most religious practices were outlawed. The ceremony, also known as the Great Prayer Festival, was prohibited again in 1990, the year after Beijing launched a crackdown on anti-government protests in Tibet.
When Chinese officials stopped Sunday's ceremony, the monks left the prayer hall and marched toward the main town, shouting that they should be allowed to observe Monlam, the Washington D.C.-based rights group said in an e-mail statement citing unidentified sources.
“They walked for around five to 10 minutes ... before they were apprehended by officials who urged the monks not to proceed further for fear of a violent response from troops stationed in the area,” ICT said.
Armed security officials soon arrived and the monks returned to their monastery, the group said.
“They are now surrounded by armed police personnel and are likely to be under lock-down after the protest,” it said.
ICT's sources said about 600 monks were involved, while Students for a Free Tibet, another rights group, said 50 monks took part.
Information on politically sensitive topics like Tibet is difficult to obtain from authorities and ordinary citizens, who often fear official retaliation if they talk. The region is sealed off to journalists and foreigners.
An official surnamed Nong at the Communist Party's propaganda office in Aba county said “no such thing happened.” Another official at the party's propaganda office in Aba prefecture, which oversees the area, said he had not heard about the incident.
Several Aba residents and hotel clerks who answered calls said they had not seen anything.
Tensions have been high in the area since last week, when a Tibetan Buddhist monk from the nearby Kirti monastery was reportedly shot after setting himself on fire to protest the prayer ban and restrictions on religion.
Rights groups said the monk, identified as Tapey, protested by waving a Tibetan flag and holding a picture of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader. It was not immediately clear who shot him but the presence of paramilitary police has noticeably increased in Tibetan communities in recent weeks.
Many Tibetans reportedly are heeding calls to boycott festivities marking the new year — known as Losar — to protest Beijing's crackdown on anti-Chinese demonstrations that exploded into violence in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa last spring. The unrest spread into neighboring Tibetan communities and troops flooded the region.
The Chinese government says 22 people died in the March 14 Lhasa protests, but Tibetan rights advocates say many more were killed, while monks, nuns and villagers were beaten, fined or jailed.
The Dalai Lama has said celebrations would be “inappropriate” under the circumstances.
March also marks the 50th anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule that led to the spiritual leader's flight into exile.