Police seized a gun, explosives and knives in six monasteries in a Tibetan-populated prefecture in the northwestern province of Gansu, local authorities said on Tuesday.

In an inspection operation on Monday in Hezuo City, Gannan Autonomous Prefecture of Tibetan Nationality, police confiscated a gun, 10 kilograms of dynamite, five detonators and seven knives in one major monastery and five bullets in another, the provincial government said.

In Xiahe County, police seized five knives and 11 flags of the "Tibetan-government-in-exile" in four monasteries.

From March 14-19, assaults, vandalism, looting and arson occurred in the Xiahe, Maqu, Luqu, Jone, Hezuo and Diebu areas of Gannan, leaving 94 people injured and causing 230 million yuan (US$ 32.8 million) in damage

So far, 2,204 people, including 519 monks, have surrendered to police in connection with the Gannan riots, officials have said. Police have so far released 1,870 of those people, including 413 monks, who were guilty of only minor offenses.

Conditions in the prefecture had returned to normal, the local government said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2008)