March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese troops sealed off three of Lhasa's largest monasteries after Tibet's biggest protests in almost 20 years deteriorated into violence, with shops and police cars set ablaze.

The protests began March 10 when hundreds of monks marched on Lhasa's Ramoche monastery, calling for religious freedoms and the release of imprisoned colleagues. The International Campaign for Tibet said a police vehicle was set on fire in Lhasa today, while shops on two streets also burned, China's state-owned Xinhua news agency said, citing witnesses.

``We're afraid the situation in Lhasa has dramatically escalated in the last few hours,'' the International Campaign for Tibet's Communications Director Kate Saunders said today in a telephone interview from London. At least two people have died in the unrest, the U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia's Tibetan service reported, citing unidentified witnesses.

The violence, which coincides with China's legislature meeting in Beijing to make government appointments, may heighten global attention on the restive region that's been under Chinese administration since 1951. Hu Jintao, who's expected to be named tomorrow for a second and final term as president and head of China's military commission, declared martial law in Tibet in 1989 while he was the Communist Party chief there.

``There is a lot of concern because we know the Chinese leaders have no compunction in deploying force,'' Saunders said. ``We're calling on the international community to urge China to exercise restraint.''

Gun Shots

Gun shots may have been fired in Lhasa, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing a hotel employee in the city, who asked not to be identified. The disturbance appeared to be coming from the old part of the city, Kyodo said. Saunders said she couldn't confirm this.

European Union leaders, meeting in Brussels, plan to issue a statement calling ``on the Chinese authorities for restraint and for human rights to be respected,'' French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters.

The U.S. ambassador to China, Clark Randt, met with China's deputy foreign minister, Zhang Yesui, ``to urge that the Chinese government, in responding to protesters, turn away from use of force or violence,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington.

Randt also conveyed President George W. Bush's view that the Chinese government ought to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, McCormack added. He said the U.S. was trying to get a fuller picture of the violence today.

Social Unrest

China's Foreign Ministry yesterday accused the Tibetan monks of trying to cause social unrest and said the situation in Lhasa was stable. ``We are resolutely opposed to any plots attempting to separate Tibet from China,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

Tibet had varying degrees of autonomy from China until the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949. It deployed troops there a year later and annexed the region in 1951.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, on March 10 accused China of violating human rights in the region.

``Repression continues to increase with numerous, unimaginable and gross violations of human rights, denial of religious freedom and politicization of religious issues,'' he told supporters in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala, where he heads a government in exile.

About 2,000 soldiers blocked 500 monks from marching from their monastery toward the city center on March 11, Human Rights Watch said in a statement. Police used teargas and electric prods to disperse demonstrators, Amnesty International said.

The protests are the largest in Tibet since pro-independence demonstrations in 1989, which prompted Chinese authorities to declare martial law.

Tibetan activists have also staged protests in Nepal and India this week.

To contact the reporters on this story: Eugene Tang in Beijing on eugenetang@bloomberg.net; Nerys Avery in Beijing at Navery2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 14, 2008 12:48 EDT