Nepalese authorities say 10 Tibetans detained for illegally entering Nepal from China have been handed over to the United Nations refugee agency.
Nepalese officials had warned earlier that the eight men and two women could face deportation to China. Authorities detained the Tibetans Saturday and questioned them about their reason for crossing the border.
Hundreds of Tibetans cross from China into Nepal every year for a dangerous journey through the mountains en route to India, where Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, lives in exile.
Nepal has allowed Tibetan pilgrims to transit through its territory in the past.
But Nepal also has been under pressure from Beijing to crack down on Tibetans in the country who hold protests against Chinese rule in Tibet. Nepal's government banned such protests last year.
Nepal is home to about 20,000 exiled Tibetans who began fleeing there after a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against China.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.