BEIJING >> A Tibetan man set himself on fire Friday morning in northwest China’s Qinghai province, advocacy groups for Tibetan rights reported.

It adds to a string of about three dozen self-immolations over the past year in ethnic Tibetan areas of China in protest of what activists say is Beijing’s heavy-handed rule in the region.

The rights groups identified the man as Tamding Thar, who was about 60 years old.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency confirmed a self-immolation happened Friday morning in Jianzha county in the province’s Huangnan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, or Chentsa county in Malho prefecture in Tibetan language.

Xinhua says the identity of the person and cause of the death are under investigation.

Beijing blames the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for inciting the self-immolations. The Dalai Lama denies that and says the acts are the result of China’s repressive policies in Tibet.