Chinese security forces shot people at random—and they arbitrarily arrested, brutalized, and tortured suspects—this happened during and after the March 2008 unrest in Tibet, says a report last week by Human Rights Watch.

The report gives a detailed examination of the Chinese regime's crackdown on what was the biggest uprising in Tibet in nearly five decades.

Since then, Chinese troops have flooded the region, put Tibetans under tight surveillance, and severely restricted foreign reporters.

The Chinese regime says it suppressed the protests "legally". But the Human Rights Watch report shows otherwise. They conducted interviews with more than 200 Tibetan refugees and visitors over the past two years. Their findings reveal what they call, "a broad range of abuses committed by security forces both during and after protest incidents."

One Tibetan told Human Rights Watch that during the 2008 protests: "They (the Chinese soldiers) were firing straight at people. They were... firing at any Tibetans they saw."

One monk from the region says he and other monks were beaten and interrogated for two days.

Human Rights Watch concludes that the Chinese military broke international law—including bans against disproportionate use of force, torture, and arbitrary detention—and that many abuses continue today.

The group is calling on the Chinese regime to examine its soldiers' conduct and to open up the region to media and international monitors.