Beijing ( CNN ) -- China on Tuesday criticized human rights groups ' accounts of a violent clash between Tibetan protesters and the Chinese police , accusing them of trying to `` distort the truth . '' The dispute over what took place in a remote area of Sichuan Province comes at a sensitive time in China 's relationship with its Tibetan population after a string of self-immolations by Tibetan protesters in recent months . The International Campaign for Tibet , which promotes human rights for Tibetan people , reported Monday that thousands of Tibetans had marched on government offices before the police opened fire into the crowd , killing at least three protesters and wounding nine . Free Tibet , a London-based group that campaigns for Tibetan independence , said that one person was killed and as many as 30 others wounded by gunfire from the Chinese security forces . The rights groups said the protesters had been motivated by a recent security crackdown on Tibetans in the region following the circulation of pamphlets raising the prospect of more self-immolations . The reports , which could not be independently verified , contrasted with the account given by Xinhua , the official Chinese news agency . It reported that `` dozens of people , including some monks , stormed and smashed some stores along a main street and a police station '' in the autonomous Tibetan prefecture of Ganzi in Sichuan . `` The mob , some armed with knives , threw stones at police officers and destroyed two police vehicles and two ambulances , '' Xinhua reported , saying that the violence left one of the marchers dead and four wounded . Five police officers were also wounded , Xinhua said . The alternative versions of events from the Tibetan rights groups clearly angered the Chinese authorities . `` The attempts of overseas secessionist groups involving Tibet to distort the truth and discredit the Chinese government will not succeed , '' Xinhua said Tuesday , citing Hong Lei , a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry . Xinhua described the rights groups ' accounts as `` ill-intentioned hype . '' The protests come ahead of the Tibetan New Year on Feb. 22 and with tensions high following more than a dozen self-immolations by Tibetans in the past year . For a fifth straight year , China will close Tibet to foreign tourists again this year from the Tibetan New Year festival until the anniversary of a deadly anti-government riot among Tibetans in March , according to regional travel agents . Tibetans in the mountainous region of Ganzi , have called for more freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama , their spiritual leader who fled to India during an uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 . Calls to the Ganzi public security bureau and government office went unanswered on Tuesday . CNN 's Jethro Mullen contributed to this report .
A clash between Tibetan protesters and Chinese police leaves four person dead . Tibetan 's official news agency and Tibetan rights groups offer conflicting versions of events . A Tibetan government official accuses the rights groups of trying to `` distort the truth '' The clash comes after a string of self-immolations by Chinese protesters in Monday .