Chinese troops stationed on the Tibet-Nepal border have shot dead at least two Tibetan refugees trying to cross the border, a report quoting eyewitnesses has said.

A report in the British daily The Independent, quoting climbers preparing to scale Mt Everest, said that the refugees were trying to reach Nangpa La pass last Saturday and the Everest advance base camp was 'swarmed by Chinese troops after the shootout'.

This is the first witness report by western climbers of China's People's Liberation Army shooting refugees.

The report said that the killings highlighted the yawning gap between China's state propaganda casting it as the 'friend and protector of the Tibetan people and the harsh reality of a brutal military occupation as experienced by three million Tibetans'.

The report said that there was no comment by the Chinese authorities on the shootings.

Many Tibetan refugees escape from Chinese occupation regularly.

A lot of Tibet [Images]an traders cross the wide Nangpa La pass, between Tibet and Nepal, to sell their traditional craft and Chinese goods, but some seek refuge in Nepal or India.

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama [Images], who has been in exile in India since the Chinese invasion of 1959, has repeatedly said he was willing to engage in talks with Beijing [Images] to protect Tibetans who have stayed behind in their homeland.

But the Chinese government has never accepted his offer and continues to treat harshly those who flee Communist repression.