Several killed in week of sectarian clashes in north-west Myanmar
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Yangon - Clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh this week have killed at least 12 people, residents said Friday.
Other reports put the death toll at more than 50.
Tun Tun, secretary of the Rakhine Youth Network in Sittwe, the state capital, about 500 kilometres north-west of Yangon, confirmed 12 dead, but added he had heard of more.
Violence reignited Sunday and flared again late Tuesday when minority Rohingyas protested at the lack of aid and food in their villages and burned houses in Min Bya and Mrauk Oo townships.
Clashes between the state's Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims had continued all week, Tun Tun said Friday in a phone interview.
This week's violence comes after communal fighting in June killed nearly 90 people and left about 90,000 displaced. Many Rohingyas have been cut off from government and international aid for the past five months.
The June clashes started after Buddhists reacted to the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men, killing 10 Rohingya not linked to the rape.//DPA
