Myanmar: Calm restored after rioting that killed 7
Yangon: Security forces in
western Myanmar have restored order after rioters burned hundreds of
homes in sectarian violence that killed at least seven people,
state-controlled media reported on Saturday.
The rioting reflected long-standing tensions in Rakhine state between Buddhist residents and Muslims, many of whom are considered to be illegal settlers from neighboring Bangladesh.
Although the root of the problem is localized centering on resentment of the alleged cross-border outsiders there is fear that the trouble could spread elsewhere because the split also runs along religious lines.
The state-run newspaper Myanma Ahlin said security forces had to open fire to restrain the rioters, while state television announced that army troops had been deployed to help police in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships, where the mobs rampaged. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was applied and public gatherings of more than five people banned.
According to the television report, seven people were killed and 17 wounded in yesterday's violence. It said 494 houses, 19 shops and a guest house were burned down.
Myanma Ahlin daily reported that about 1,000 "terrorists" were responsible for the rampage, which also saw some storm Maungdaw General Hospital.
State media did not otherwise identify the rioters, but the area is 90 per cent Muslim, and local residents contacted by phone said the mob's members were Muslims. The dead were evidently all Buddhists, judging by the names of those victims who were mentioned in Myanma Ahlin, which added that those hurt had knife wounds.
The TV report said, without further elaboration, that Myanmar naval forces were taking security measures along the nearby coast on the Bay of Bengal. The Information Ministry's website said camps have been opened at monasteries to shelter those who lost their homes, and the defense and health ministries had flown in doctors to tend to the injured.
The amount of information about the incident released by state media in a timely fashion is nearly unprecedented. Under the previous military regime, such incidents usually went unreported or were referred to only in brief, cryptic fashion.
The elected though military-backed government of President Thein Sein has instituted reforms to try to reverse decades of repression, including allowing a much freer flow of information.
Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/myanmar-calm-restored-after-rioting-that-killed-7_780861.html
The rioting reflected long-standing tensions in Rakhine state between Buddhist residents and Muslims, many of whom are considered to be illegal settlers from neighboring Bangladesh.
Although the root of the problem is localized centering on resentment of the alleged cross-border outsiders there is fear that the trouble could spread elsewhere because the split also runs along religious lines.
The state-run newspaper Myanma Ahlin said security forces had to open fire to restrain the rioters, while state television announced that army troops had been deployed to help police in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships, where the mobs rampaged. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was applied and public gatherings of more than five people banned.
According to the television report, seven people were killed and 17 wounded in yesterday's violence. It said 494 houses, 19 shops and a guest house were burned down.
Myanma Ahlin daily reported that about 1,000 "terrorists" were responsible for the rampage, which also saw some storm Maungdaw General Hospital.
State media did not otherwise identify the rioters, but the area is 90 per cent Muslim, and local residents contacted by phone said the mob's members were Muslims. The dead were evidently all Buddhists, judging by the names of those victims who were mentioned in Myanma Ahlin, which added that those hurt had knife wounds.
The TV report said, without further elaboration, that Myanmar naval forces were taking security measures along the nearby coast on the Bay of Bengal. The Information Ministry's website said camps have been opened at monasteries to shelter those who lost their homes, and the defense and health ministries had flown in doctors to tend to the injured.
The amount of information about the incident released by state media in a timely fashion is nearly unprecedented. Under the previous military regime, such incidents usually went unreported or were referred to only in brief, cryptic fashion.
The elected though military-backed government of President Thein Sein has instituted reforms to try to reverse decades of repression, including allowing a much freer flow of information.
Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/myanmar-calm-restored-after-rioting-that-killed-7_780861.html
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