[Myanmar] Ethnic Riot Claims Three Lives In Arakan State

[News_Editor]

Muslim leaders talk to protesters near Sule Pagoda in Rangoon on June 5. (Photo: Reuters)

Riot police exchanged gunfire with an Islamic mob in Maung Daw Township, Arakan State, on Friday afternoon after three people were reportedly killed in religious clashes.

Fourteen villages in Maung Daw and Bu Thee Taung townships were torched by rioters while authorities struggled to maintain control, according to Facebook social networking page of a President Office’s official.

“The security forces have been trying to protect the 14 villages which burned,†said the Facebook post.

Residents from two of the villages confirmed to The Irrawaddy that nearby houses had been torched. “Residents worry about the security as there is no protection for the public at the moment,†said a Maung Daw resident.

The riot apparently broke out as worshippers were returning from Friday prayers at the Shwezar mosque around lunchtime and began throwing stones at banks and government buildings.

Five primary schools and a number of Arakanese-owned buildings were burnt down by rioters, reported The Voice Weekly journal. Burmese troops have been deplored to the area with the possibility of Marshal Law.

An ethnic Arakanese man was reportedly slashed by a knife after he ran from his burning home.

“People are afraid of being in their homes and all, mostly children and women, have come to gather at the monastery,†said a local Buddhist monk.

Local police reportedly avoided confronting the Muslim crowd at the beginning of the trouble and then the situation quickly escalated and the riot ensued.

Witnesses say three people including a doctor and his wife have been killed so far and more than ten villagers were wounded.

Tensions have flared in Arakan State since 10 Muslims were killed by an angry Buddhist mob on Sunday. The slayings were apparent retribution after an Arakanese woman was allegedly raped by three other Muslim men days earlier.

Meanwhile, the President’s Office called a meeting late on Friday to discuss the unrest. Ninety-six percent of Maung Daw Township is registered as Muslim despite only making up four percent of the national population according to official data.

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