Tibetan exiles in Nepal begin hunger strike

KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) - About 100 Tibetan exiles - including monks, nuns and children - began a hunger strike Saturday to protest the deaths of Tibetans in clashes with Chinese police in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, a Free Tibet activist told CNN.

"I do not know how long will be the hunger strike," said Thupten Tenzing Jamphel, a monk who is president of the Nepal-Tibetan Youth Volunteers for Free Tibet. "It was a spontaneous act and not an organized one."

About 200 Tibetan exiles helds a candlelight march at Kathmandu's most famous Buddhist stupa Friday evening and another vigil is planned for Saturday evening, he said.

Tibetan exiles clashed with Nepalese police Friday as police tried to stop their rally, he said.

The Nepal government, which recognizes Tibet as part of China, strictly controls anti-Chinese activities within the country.