BEIJING (Reuters) - About 30 Tibetan monks burst into a rare news briefing at a key temple in Lhasa on Thursday, saying the authorities were lying about the situation after more than two weeks of unrest in the Himalayan region, a witness said. Watch Sky News video report.

The BBC has released footage of protests on March 10 and 11 which may have been the initial spark for the ongoing crackdown in Tibet.

The footage shows monks engaged in peaceful ‘sitdown’ protests surrounded by Chinese security forces. The footage also shows senior monks trying to prevent any violence from occuring. View footage

Despite the attempted media blackout in Tibetan areas, news of further protests is filtering out. Demonstrations by monks and other Tibetans have been reported in Kardze, Luchu County and at the Dzoge Monastery.

Photographic evidence has emerged of Tibetan deaths at the hands of Chinese authorities.

Also, an Australian tourist shot some of the only independently filmed footage to emerge of the recent events in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.

The media blackout over Tibet and the forced exit of independent journalists has made it impossible to get reliable information on the current situation and poses a grave danger to those inside Tibet.

In the last few days at least twenty-five reporters have been deported to Hong Kong. Canadian and British reporters were detained in Qinghai and the only western journalist in Lhasa has been escorted out.

Following the Dalai Lama’s statement yesterday that he may be forced to resign if violence in Tibet escalates, the Australia Tibet Council has written an urgent letter to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, asking him to redouble his efforts to bring about peace in the troubled region.

In a wide ranging two hour media conference in Dharamsala yesterday evening, the Dalai Lama repeated his long standing position that he might be forced to resign as a spokesperson for the Tibetan people if violence in Tibet became “out of control”.

Statements supporting the people of Tibet have been released by Hillary Clinton and John McCain, following an earlier statement by fellow presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) today called on the Chinese Government to permit the Tibetan people to demonstrate peacefully and called for an international investigation into serious allegations that the Chinese security forces have carried out human rights violations during the recent protests in Lhasa and other locations.

As the ‘midnight ultimatum’ set by the Chinese government passed, worldwide calls for Chinese authorities to exercise restraint have continued. Protests have also spread as far as Beijing.