China authorities say 24 arrested for Lhasa riots

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities announced on Thursday that 24 suspects had been arrested for involvement in riots that struck Tibet's regional capital Lhasa last week.

The Lhasa prosecutor's office said two dozen suspects had been charged with "endangering national security as well as beating, smashing, looting, arson and other grave crimes," the official Tibet news service (www.tibetinfor.com.cn) reported.

"The facts of the crimes are clear and the evidence is solid, and they should be severely punished to protect the strictness of the law," a Lhasa deputy chief prosecutor, Xie Yanjun, said.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley)