Nearly 80 protesters marched to the Chinese embassy here to hand over a letter but police cordoned off the area, sparking verbal disputes with the demonstrators, who shouted slogans and carried Tibetan and Japanese flags.

'China's armed repression of Tibetans' cries for independence have resulted in more than one hundred deaths... Red China has no qualification to have the Olympics,' the letter addressed to the Chinese ambassador read.

'Stop the human rights abuses of Tibetans, apologise, and return Tibet its country,' it added.

Protesters carried large photos of Chinese President Hu Jintao and banners calling him 'assassin'.

Others waved signs saying, 'Free Tibet', and, 'Red China, leave Tibet'.

A separate group of protesters organised by Tibet Support Network Japan gathered at a nearby park that included 50 Japanese Buddhist monks, Tibetans and ordinary Japanese citizens.

'The Chinese Communist Party is the world's enemy. (Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo) Fukuda should step down for being soft on China,' said Daisuke Kuroda, 30, an attorney.

Earlier on Saturday, China said 18 'innocent' civilians and one police officer were killed in the rioting in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, raising its official death toll from 13.

Tibet's government-in-exile in the Indian hill town of Dharamshala has put the toll from a week of unrest across the Himalayan region and neighbouring provinces at 99. -- AFP