Fires and clashes break out amid sectarian violence in Myanmar
Thailand's most updated English news website, newspaper english, breaking news : The Nation
Yangon - Fires and armed clashes broke out Tuesday amid ongoing sectarian violence in western Myanmar despite the deployment of troops, witnesses said.
"The fires started in Muslims' houses and spread to houses belonging to Buddhists" in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, resident Pha Zin Aung told dpa by telephone.
"We can also hear shooting," she said. "There are not enough soldiers here to control the situation." On Sunday, President Thein Sein declared a state of emergency instate, which borders Bangladesh, placing all towns under a dusk-to-dawn curfew.
The violence had been brought under control in most towns in the state except its capital, 500 kilometres north-west of Yangon, sources said.
Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine State have been attacking each other since June 3, when a mob of Rakhine Buddhists killed 10 Muslims they pulled off a bus in Taungup, in southern Rakhine.
DPA
