100th Tibetan Monk Burns Alive by Own Hand

A spokesman for police in the Nepalese capital, said the monk, who was in his early 20s, startled the many tourists who ate breakfast at the restaurant.

- He went straight into the bathroom, poured petrol over himself and lit it, said the policeman.

The restaurant is located just off the Boudhanath Stupa, one of the most important shrines of Buddhism.

The Tibetan government in exile, based in Dharamsala, India, said that this is the hundredth monk who set himself on fire since 2009 in protest against Chinese rule in Tibet.