Three dead in new wave of clashes
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At least three people have been killed in a fresh outbreak of communal violence between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar's western Rakhine state.
The clashes laid bare festering tensions between the two communities after widespread violence in June left dozens dead, tens of thousands displaced and prompted rights groups to warn of a humanitarian crisis.
“We got the information that three people, an ethnic Rakhine man and two Muslim women, were killed at Pandeinkone village during yesterday’s [Monday’s] clashes,” Hla Thein, Rakhine state chief justice told AFP.
“It’s difficult to control the situation,” he said, adding that there was no information on the number of wounded.
Hundreds of homes were also torched in the unrest that affected two neighbouring villages, he said, while police said an overnight curfew failed to prevent violence continuing for a second day.
“The conflict between the two communities is happening again. About 50 houses were burnt down at a village in Mrauk U town,” a police official said requesting anonymity.
More than 50,000 Muslims and up to 10,000 Buddhists are thought to be displaced across Rakhine state, where people from both communities were forced to flee as mobs torched entire villages in June’s flare-up.
The bloodshed cast a shadow over widely praised reforms by President Thein Sein, including the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament.
Myanmar’s government has rejected accusations of abuse by security forces in Rakhine, after the United Nations raised fears of a crackdown on Muslims.
Meanwhile, the United States announced it would provide an additional $2.73 million (Bt84 million) in humanitarian assistance to Rakhine state, US Ambassador Derek Mitchell said.
As much as $2 million would be distributed to support the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) programme to help the displaced population and $730,000 will go to support the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef).
According to the statement, the violence in Rakhine State has caused at least 80 deaths and displaced 70,000 people since early June.
Many of the displaced are unwilling or unable to return home due to the continued threat to their lives, as well as the loss of housing, property and livelihood.
The UNHCR will focus its assistance on building temporary shelters in refugee camps in Sittwe, as well as on providing shelters for Rakhine in Maungdaw, while Unicef will focus on water, sanitation and hygiene needs.
The assistance, the Mitchell added, would be provided for both Buddhists and Rohingya communities in the area without any discrimination.
He also said the US hoped that the assistance would help Myanmar to rebuild trust between the Buddhist and Muslim communities in order to bring peace to the area.
