Rioters shouting "Tibet independence" slogans attacked government office buildings, schools and burnt down shops in northwest China's Gansu Province, an official with the provincial government said on Wednesday.

The unrest broke out in about five counties of the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in southern Gansu, from last Saturday onwards. Some of the rioters held flags of the so-called Tibetan government-in-exile and carried framed paintings of Dalai Lama, sources with the government said.

"Judging from all the signs, the destruction was organized and fanned by separatists inside China and abroad to undermine social order," said Mao Shengwu, head of the prefecture.

In Xiahe county, one of the worst hit, windows of many buildings were broken. Government offices and medical clinics in the county's Amqog Township were seriously damaged. Trees in Amqog's police station were felled and televisions sets were battered into pieces. In the Maqu County, about 230 kilometers down in the south, most shops along the street where the county government office is located were ransacked.

In the Luqu County, about 140 kilometers from Xiahe, a mob of more than 200 stormed into government buildings, banks and shops on Sunday. Violent crowds burnt 18 vehicles, set fire to and looted about 100 shops. Eight policemen were injured when trying to prevent them from sabotaging.

On Tuesday, 12 towns in the prefectural capital Hezuo, the Jone county, Luqu county and Xiahe county were subject to destruction carried out by the mobs. Three government employees were hurt.

"These riotous activities, from Saturday onwards, were not coincidental, but coordinated and closely linked with the unrest in Lhasa last Friday," said Zhang Yusheng, a spokesman with the Gansu provincial government on Wednesday.

"These sabotages were well-organized and premeditated, and their roots were in the Dalai Lama Clique, whose ulterior motive was to disturb the Beijing Olympics, destroy the peace and stability and split the country," he said.

He said police forces took actions to maintain social order and protect the safety of the people. They also stepped up protection of hospitals, schools, banks and government agencies. "Police officers and armed police forces exercised massive restraint and handled the incident according to the law," he added.

"Social order in the Gannan area is returning to normal," he said.

Unrest that broke out in Lhasa on March 14, which the government said was organized by the Dalai Lama clique, has led to the deaths of at least 13 innocent civilians.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 20, 2008)