Opponents of Chinese rule in Tibet set fire to vehicles and shops on Friday while Chinese troops sealed off some of Lhasa's largest monasteries during Tibet's biggest protests in almost 20 years.

The rallies, which were initiated by Buddhist monks, have been growing since Monday, the anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Beijing rule, CNN reported.

Roughly 1,000 people hurled rocks at security forces and military trucks pushing back riot police, witnesses said, adding that the protesters appeared to be targeting shops and vehicles owned by Han Chinese, the predominant ethnic group in China.

Monks in Tibet have also begun a hunger strike and some attempted suicide as troops surrounded monasteries in the government crackdown.

Meanwhile, Tibet's spiritual leader in exile Dalai Lama accused China of violating human rights in the region saying that repressions against the Tibetan people continues.

Tibet used to have varying degrees of autonomy from China until 1949 when the Chinese Communist Party came to power and deployed troops there to annex the region in 1951.

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